(Radio Iowa) – Critics of changes in a state permit for a coal-fired power plant near Ottumwa have raised their concerns at a public hearing hosted by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. D-N-R staffers say the plant added a new discharge site last year and amendments to the permit update wastewater flow data. Several environmental groups oppose the changes, claiming they don’t address contaminants that leach out of coal ash and other waste stored in a landfill the utility uses.

Josh Mandelbaum — an attorney with the Environmental Law and Policy Center — says the amended permit would shift the risks. “It shifts the risk to the city and to its residents,” Mandelbaum says. “This is Alliant’s pollution, and this permit is the opportunity to provide accountability and compliance with the rule.” Most public comments opposing the permit changes focus on a liquid called “leachate” that moves through a landfill and picks up contaminants.

The D-N-R’s Wendy Hieb says the plant’s current permit does not allow for leachate discharge into streams and rivers — and the changes wouldn’t allow it either. “It was mistakenly included in a supporting document that was posted on the web with the permit amendment,” she said. The power plant uses trucks to transport that liquid “leachate” to the municipal wastewater treatment plant in Ottumwa, which has a permit to accept it.

State officials expect to make a final decision on the updated permit for the Ottumwa Generating Station by October. The plant is operated by Interstate Power and Life, a subsidiary of Alliant Energy. Alliant AND MidAmerican Energy are the plant’s owners.