More than 10 months since he was at the official groundbreaking, U.S. Congressman Dave Loebsack recently stopped at the Lake Red Rock Hydroelectric Site.
Loebsack was impressed with how much progress has been made, and says it will be an important milestone for the area when it’s completed.
“Ultimately this is going to replace coal powered energy, I think that’s a wonderful situation for this area,” Loebsack says. “Of course, it’s going to help the folks in Pella make sure they have good renewable fuels here and electricity that is from renewable electricity, but also is affordable.”
He met with site supervisor Vern Cochran with Missouri River Energy Services, and the two discussed the impact federal regulations have had on construction.
“Before the tour, we just went over a couple of talking points of the struggles we had on getting the permits and licensing for the project and how we’d liek his support in getting those streamlined,” Cochran says.
Following their meeting and a presentation about progress so far, Loebsack took a tour of the site on the downstream side of the dam.