Apr. 11--WATERLOO -- The City Council Monday night received a petition with more than 600 signatures opposing a proposed power plant in northeast Waterloo.

Betty Seamans, who lives on Independence Avenue outside the city limits, but who is building new homes in east Waterloo, filed the petition in opposition to LS Power's proposed massive 750-megawatt, $1.3 billion power plant east of Eagle Ottawa tannery and north of Newell Road.

"I own property all over Waterloo, I own houses, and I don't want it next to my city," Seamans said. "We do have a lot of property on the east side. Our plan was to help the east side build up. I'm hoping this won't go through because it's going to hinder us a lot. We want to help the east side. It needs to rebuild and be productive.

"I'm going to fight this as long as I can," Seamans said of the power plant proposal.

While many of the petition signers are from various parts of Waterloo, they also come from all over Black Hawk County and as far away as Lansing and Cedar Rapids. One of the signers is Kamyar Enshayan, a Cedar Falls City Council member and an assistant professor at the Center for Energy and Environmental Education at the University of Northern Iowa.

The petitions are identical to the ones submitted to the Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors in February, but contain nearly triple the 260 signatures presented then, said opponent Gail Mueller, a county resident near Dewar and a Poyner Township trustee. He accompanied Seamans along with Robert Hummel, who co-owns east side property with Seamans and her husband Lowell on which new homes are being built.

Petitioners expressed concerns that the proposed power plant will increase flooding in the unincorporated community of Dewar; create air pollution from burning coal; and increase of traffic on Newell Street.

Mueller and Seamans also expressed concerns about long coal trains tying up traffic in town.

The petitioners indicated they're disappointed with the Board of Supervisors' inaction on the issue.

"It's very disappointing our county officials could tell us how much tax dollars they were getting, but they couldn't tell us how much pollution was coming out of this plant when it first hit," Mueller said. "Are the tax dollars they're taking in going to offset the health risks or health problems for the people of the east side of Waterloo?"

The petitions did not ask for a specific action from the council. "But we will," Seamans said. While the plant requires Iowa Utilities Board approval, a statement of opposition now by a local public body may carry some weight with the state, they said.

Waterloo Mayor Tim Hurley supports the power plant proposal and said LS Power officials will be holding promised community meetings soon to provide information about the project.

Robert Colozza, project manager with LS Power, said the Iowa Utilities Board will be conducting a public information meeting on the project in early May.