Published: July 06, 2006 01:05 pm            

Stewart's legislative update

The Iowa Railway Finance Authority recently approved funding for rail improvement projects across Iowa, which are expected to create 430 new jobs, leverage $274 million in new capital investment and reduce transportation costs by $73 million.

Included in the program is funding for a rail improvement project at Lincoln Way Railport in Clinton. The project received a $90,000 grant and was approved for a loan worth $229,209.



Iowa-grown fuels

I am working on a proposal to increase state investment in “Iowa-grown fuels.” I believe making a major investment in Iowa’s community colleges and universities is the next important step to maintaining and increasing Iowa’s leadership in this area.

Recent legislative initiatives have helped make Iowa No. 1 in ethanol production and No. 3 in wind energy. The alternative energy industry offers Iowa jobs that not only pay well but are also the type of jobs that are not going to be exported.

The proposal I’m advancing has three components.

• Investing at Iowa’s state universities in short-term and long-term research on renewable energy technologies, including on more efficient production and usage of renewable fuels and related products.

• Increasing support for Iowa’s community colleges to help train and retrain workers for the new jobs being created by Iowa’s ethanol, wind, biodiesel and other renewable energy businesses.

• Creating a new statewide Alternative Energy Accountability Commission on bio-based technologies to set real goals and maintain oversight and accountability for the use of tax dollars.

Every dollar we invest in alternative energy also pays dividends to our family farmers by creating new markets. For example, just one Iowa ethanol plant employs 56 people and consumes almost 60,000 bushels of corn per day. The plant has increased the local price of corn by five to 10 cents a bushel.

These types of benefits are possible right here in eastern Iowa with the construction of Clinton County BioEnergy and Archer Daniels Midland in Clinton. This increased economic activity is a win-win situation for Iowa’s workers, farmers and communities.

This initiative is not just about alternative fuels. It’s also about creating alternatives to plastics, fibers and other products that are currently produced with petroleum-based products. We have only scratched the surface of the possibilities in this area of research and job creation.

Currently, the Ag-Based Industrial Lubricants research program at the University of Northern Iowa is creating soybean-based industrial lubricants (www.abiluni.org), and the Iowa Energy Center at Iowa State University is developing plastics from soybean and corn oils (www.energy.iastate.edu).

An increased investment in Iowa-grown fuels will ensure that Iowa can:

• Take another step toward national energy independence by reducing our reliance on foreign oil.

• Strengthen our state’s own economy by reducing the flow of dollars out of Iowa to purchase energy.

• Earn the reputation as “the alternative fuels capital of the world” because of the cutting-edge research on renewable energy technologies and the development of more efficient production and usage of renewable fuels.

• Recruit and retain the best and brightest alternative energy researchers at our state universities.

• Ensure that our community colleges are fully prepared to train and educate the renewable energy workforce throughout Iowa.

During the 2006 session of the Legislature, the Senate helped create the strongest renewable fuels bill in the nation. It combined specific goals with strong accountability measures. That legislation included:

• An aggressive goal stating that 25 percent of all Iowa energy will come from renewables by the year 2020.

• Providing incentives to increase the markets for E-85 and soy biodiesel.

• Supporting the expansion of wind energy in Iowa.

• Increasing the amount of Iowa-grown fuels used in Iowa to more than 1 billion gallons in the next 10 years.

I’m proud to have been a part of these important steps toward energy independence and the creation of new jobs in Iowa. However, I know that we can do more and I look forward to taking another bold step toward energy independence in 2007.

As I work to further develop these proposals, I am interested in hearing what you think. Feel free to contact me with your suggestions and ideas.



Eastern Iowa trout streams see improvement

I recently heard from Iowa Department of Natural Resources Director Jeff Vonk that our efforts to improve Iowa’s water quality are paying off. Landowners and anglers are working to improve northeast Iowa’s well-known trout streams and everyone is benefiting.

Funding from the DNR, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and federal agencies is helping landowners implement conservation practices that keep excess sediment and nutrients out of streams. With clearer water, fish are thriving, fishing is improving and fishing-based tourism is helping small communities.

In 1980, trout were reproducing naturally in just six Iowa streams. Today, that number has increased to 29 streams. While our trout streams are just one important area in improving the state’s water quality, they show that clean water is an achievable goal.

Roger Stewart, a Democrat from Preston, is a member of the Iowa Senate representing District 13.

        

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