Trucks, Trucks, Everywhere a Truck...

Dairyland says 8-20 trucks a day.  But the number will more likely be closer to 40-50 trucks a day up and down two major climbs (12% grades).  And that's not counting the trucks delivering the lime. These are estimates, of course, and depends on several factors:

• Production Level of the Genoa Plant
  If more electricity is being produced, then more coal will be needed to make the electricity

• Type of Coal Used
  The cheaper the coal, the more sulfur it contains.  More sulfur means more lime will be needed to absorb the sulfur from the exhaust gases.  More lime means more waste.

• Transporting Waste Wet or Dry
  Transporting waste wet will typically result in more truck traffic since a dump truck is often used on place of a tractor-trailer.

• Holidays and Snow Days

Regardless of the actual number, this is a lot of trucks travelling up and down a narrow, twisting, and winding 2 lane road.

Stop Travelling on Empty...

The Dairyland Power Genoa Plant is right next to Highway 35, which is fairly flat for many miles, and a major railroad on both sides of the Mississippi River. This leads to a couple of obvious questions:

If rail cars are delivering coal and leaving empty, why can't they be loaded with coal waste on the return trip to the mine?

If trucks are delivering lime (possibly from the Quad Cities) and leaving empty, why can't they be loaded with coal waste on the return trip to the quarry?

If a landfill can be theoretically constructed here on top of a bluff and among organic farms and homes and communities by using a "fancy pool liner" and a clay base, as Dairyland Power is proposing, why can't this same pool liner and a layer of clay be used at an old mine or quarry?  It either stops groundwater contamination or it doesn't, so which is it?  After all, mines and quarries must often be reclaimed and what better place to store waste than a place that's already been wasted?!