(Spirit Lake)– The reclassification of a drainage district in Dickinson county is headed back to the drawing board.
The supervisors voted unanimously this (Tues.) morning to start the process over for drainage district 31, which is in the Superior area. The proposed project has drawn considerable opposition from Green Plains Renewable Energy, which owns and operates the ethanol plant in Superior which lies within the district. A company attorney presented the formal opposition at a public hearing a couple of weeks ago and repeated the concerns at Tuesday’s meeting. He accused the county of not sending out proper notifications, something county officials have denied, along with not being provided information since the hearing two weeks ago, claiming the company is being denied due process.
In making the motion to re-start the process, the supervisors indicated some additional steps will be taken just to further ensure things are being done in accordance with Iowa law.
On another drainage matter, the supervisors voted to authorize the annexation of some land into Drainage District 15, which is near Lake Park. It affects 2,140 acres of land in Dickinson county and 1,888 acres in Osceola county. An engineer told the supervisors owners of the land being annexed have been benefited by the district.
