Linn County approves first reading to rezone Duane Arnold site for nuclear restart

Linn County supervisors on Jan. 5 approved on first consideration a rezoning that would allow NextEra Energy Duane Arnold to refurbish and restart the Duane Arnold Energy Center within its historic footprint and to store spent fuel on-site under Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) standards.

Charlie Nichols, Linn County Planning and Development director, told the board the rezoning application seeks to change roughly 393 acres at 3277 DAEC Road from agricultural zoning to an Exclusive Use 2 district targeted for nuclear energy generation and nuclear waste storage. Nichols emphasized the rezoning "is the first step in a much longer process" and that NRC licensing, environmental review and reactor design approvals remain required before any restart or fuel loading.

Garrett Goldfinger, lead developer for NextEra Energy Duane Arnold (NEDA), presented the applicant's timeline, permitting plan and economic case. Goldfinger said the company has filed with the NRC and is pursuing state and local permits; he told the board the project is targeting fuel loading and reliability testing in 2028'2029 and said the facility would operate within its historic footprint. On public concerns about spent fuel, Goldfinger said, "spent fuel, which I characterize as nuclear waste, is designed to [meet] rigorous NRC standards for storage facilities on-site" and that spent fuel would be managed on-site with a planned transition to independent dry-storage in the decades after operations.

The staff report and applicant materials described expected economic benefits and local payments. Nichols summarized an economic-impact analysis and the proposed host community agreement (HCA), which calls for a $1,900,000 annual payment to Linn County once commercial operations begin and includes a 5% annual escalator. The staff report also described an MOU that would reimburse the county for pre-operational emergency-preparedness costs; staff said the MOU will be revised to make explicit that Linn County is the fiscal agent and the board must approve expenditures under that MOU.

Public comment at the hearing was largely supportive: area elected officials, former plant employees, labor representatives and local economic development groups said the restart would bring construction and operations jobs and significant local investment. Senator Charlie McClintock urged approval, citing workforce and statewide economic benefits; Mayor Steve Dodson of Hiawatha told the board the project would strengthen regional schools and services through increased tax revenue. Some residents asked specific questions about quantities of spent fuel, long-term storage and monitoring.

Supervisors expressed support while stressing local protections. "We are not going to be paying the price for a company that's worth hundreds of billions of dollars to come in and profit off of our community," Supervisor Sheets said, describing the HCA and the MOU as tools that protect county taxpayers and guarantee financial responsibilities.

Before voting on first consideration, the board voted to amend the motion to require NextEra (NEDA) to enter into a separate road-use agreement with the city of Palo before any new building permits can be applied for; that amendment was approved by voice vote. The board then approved first consideration of the rezoning as amended by voice vote. Charlie Nichols and staff said the ordinance requires three readings and that the third reading is rarely waived for projects of this magnitude; the NRC and other federal and state approvals are separate processes that will proceed in parallel.

Next steps: staff will return Wednesday with clarified MOU language and the host community agreement for further board action; federal permitting and NRC licensing processes will continue independently. The county maintained that rezoning and the HCA give local government a formal role in oversight and financial protections, but that long-term waste-management decisions remain under federal authority.