Environmental group sues MidAmerican Environmental group sues MidAmerican The Sierra Club says the utility should be fined for violating air pollution rules at its Council Bluffs plant. By ABBY SIMONS REGISTER STAFF WRITER A lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club asks that Iowa's largest utility, MidAmerican Energy, be fined up to $32,500 per day for air-pollution violations at its coal-fired generating plant in Council Bluffs. The lawsuit is part of a larger strategy by the environmental group battling coal plant proposals in nine Midwestern states. Bruce Nilles, director of the Sierra Club's Midwest Clean Energy Campaign, calls the Midwest "Ground Zero of the Coal Rush." In Iowa, at least three new coal-fired generators have been built or are planned. http://dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070510/NEWS01/705100353/-1/archive ----------------- Project hopes to generate new use for corn product Distillers grains, left over from ethanol production, would be turned into pellets and used to make electricity By JASON CLAYWORTH REGISTER STAFF WRITER Iowa is the focus of a new advancement that could help the state convert ethanol production leftovers into electricity. If the project is successful, a byproduct from ethanol plants across the state would be processed into pellets that would be used at electricity plants to reduce the use of coal and cut greenhouse gas emissions. The technology is among the first that could tap into a $100 million program approved by the Iowa Legislature last month. http://dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070510/BUSINESS01/705100326/1029/archive - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp