Despite the very bleak outlook concerning the Alliant Energy power plant in Marshalltown, some legislators maintain the plant is still worth fighting for.

"There is something we can do legislatively," said Rep. Annette Sweeney, R-Alden, to a group of Marshall County Republicans Friday. "We can bring in the utilities board because they are governed by the Legislature."

Alliant Energy officials announced last week they would not be building a proposed $1.8 billion power plant in Marshalltown after recent decisions from the Iowa Utilities Board and Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Rep. Mark Smith, D-Marshalltown, said he agrees there are some things the legislature can do to ensure this situation, which happened to Marshalltown, never happens again. He and Sen. Steve Sodders, D-State Center, met with Alliant Energy CEO Tom Aller and other legislative leaders Thursday morning to delve into what went wrong at the state level.

"One of the things we are interested in looking at is seeing if the whole process can be and should be updated," Smith said.

Sodders believes the Iowa Utilities Board may have been looking too hard at some specific points and not hard enough at others. The senator said there is legislation on the books, which was passed several years ago, which should make it easier to construct power plants in Iowa, not harder.

"Whether we like it or not, the IUB may not have really looked into that law like they should have," he said.

Sodders also had harsh words for Iowa Department of Natural Resources Director Rich Leopold. In previous meetings, Sodders said Leopold assured both himself and Smith the air permit hearing and commenting process would not exceed 30 days unless there was substantial new information presented above and beyond what was already known.

"We were told it would be 30 days, with a couple meetings in Marshalltown and Tama," Sodders said. "As it turns out, the process was extended before we even got to those hearings. I'm not happy with the way Director Leopold handled this."

However, Leopold said Friday that is not what he was trying to convey at a meeting he had with Sodders and Smith. Rather, he believes two issues were getting confused - one about substantial new information which would require certain information from Alliant Energy, and the other issue being the process itself.

"I let them know, depending on public comment, other things could happen," he said. "We had a high level of interest in this and decided to extend the comment period. That's not atypical."

In fact, Leopold said there were more than 700 requests for extending the comment period and holding additional meetings. Many of those requests, the director said, were generated through letter-writing campaigns waged by in-state environmental groups. While out-of-state groups also may have played a role, their comments do not carry nearly as much weight as those constituencies located in Iowa, Leopold said.

Whether or not any of this can be changed at this point is still unknown. Any bill not out of committee by the end of this week will have to wait until next year, making it almost impossible to get legislative action this year through the normal framework.

However, Smith said leadership in both the House and the Senate can bring up bills at any point during the session for discussion. That is one possibility, he stated.

Smith was asked if, even with legislative action, Marshalltown's opportunity for a coal plant was gone.

"My guess is yes," he said. "Unfortunately it is too late. The decisions have been made under the current system."

Sodders also agreed with that assessment.

"You always have that hope that maybe we can do something. We did ask Tom [Aller] if there was anything the Legislature could do right now to help reverse that decision," Sodders said. "Quite frankly, I didn't get the impression there was."

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Contact Ken Black at 641-753-6611 or kblack@timesrepublican.com