Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Duane Arnold Rezoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Linn County approves rezoning and MOU to clear way for Duane Arnold restart
Summary
The Linn County Board of Supervisors voted Jan. 14 to approve a memorandum of understanding with NextEra and to rezoned the Duane Arnold Energy Center site to an EU-2 designation, adding a local road-use condition with the city of Palo; supervisors noted the county lacks authority over nuclear waste but said the steps give residents ‘a seat at the table.’
The Linn County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 14 approved two measures intended to clear local obstacles to restarting the Duane Arnold Energy Center.
The board unanimously approved an amended memorandum of understanding with NextEra Duane Arnold LLC that makes Linn County the fiscal agent for reimbursement of pre-operational emergency-management costs tied to the plant restart. Charlie Nichols of Planning and Development told supervisors the MOU was updated to include Linn County as fiscal agent and that NextEra has pre-signed the agreement. "This is to cover costs related to emergency preparedness, emergency response plan creation before the Duane Arnold Energy Center restarts," Nichols said.
At third and final consideration the board also rezoned roughly 3.93 acres at 3277 DAEC Road, Palo, from Agricultural to an EU-2 district for a nuclear energy generating facility and nuclear waste storage. Nichols said an additional condition added since the second reading requires Duane Arnold to secure a road-use agreement with the city of Palo in addition to Linn County. The motion for final approval passed on a voice vote with all supervisors saying "aye."
Supervisors emphasized the limits of county authority over nuclear waste and final licensing. The chair said rezoning "does not give us the authority to make the final approval or disapproval, nor do we have authority over nuclear waste," but added the local actions "give Linn County residents a seat at the table." A public commenter, Gary Goldfinger, told the board the rezoning was a "critical milestone" and said the project aims to resume operations by 2029.
The MOU and rezoning are local steps among many federal, state and regulatory approvals that remain for a nuclear facility to restart. County staff and supervisors framed both actions as preparatory and emphasized coordination with the city of Palo and with state and federal entities as the project proceeds. The board recorded the approvals as routine motions and voice votes during its Jan. 14 session.
