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Heartland wants to build the plant that would burn nearly 10 million tires annually to produce power.
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Two environmental groups formed specifically to fight the plant held a demonstration at the Root River Trailhead in Preston on Saturday.
Organizers used the rally to gather support for their fight, to stump about the dangers the project poses and to gather signatures demanding the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency force Heartland have an environmental impact study done.
The project was placed on hold in February when Olmsted County Judge Joseph Wieners ruled that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency needed to take a second look at the decision not to require an environmental impact statement for the plant.
Last month Wieners ruled that Heartland cannot proceed with construction until the MPCA completes a review of how it originally issued permits for the plant.
The groups Citizens Against Pollution and Southeastern Minnesotans for Environmental Protection want the study done, but project developer Robert Maust of Preston has said having to do an environmental study could delay the project for up to five years.
Maust has also said the $45 million project is based on the latest scientific research that shows it will not pollute as opponents contend.
CAP's Bryan Van Gorp said the project is based on unproven science and challenged Maust to use the study to prove his case.
"If the project is as safe as the company says it is, you would think they would want to do a study. What more would prove their case," Van Gorp said.
The event, which attracted more than 200 people to the banks of the Root River to protest the project, included a number of speakers who talked of the dangers the project would pose.
David Pechulis, who was elected mayor of Preston based in part due to his opposition to the Heartland project, told the crowd an environmental study is not too much to ask for.
"We're just asking for an environmental impact statement. It's not rocket science," Pechulis said. "You're talking about a facility that is using untested technology. Why shouldn't there be an EIS done?"
Several speakers said the plant would pose a problem to everyone in the tri-state area and not just immediately around Preston.
That is why future events are planned throughout southeastern Minnesota and southwest Wisconsin, CAP's Linda Griggs said.
Opponents have criticized the plant which they say will will pump two tons of air pollution per day into the air from a 210-foot smoke stack.
It also will produce two to three pounds of mercury per year and 44,000 gallons of waste water per day, opponents said.
The plant will cause surface run-off from tires into Watson Creek and the Root River, and tire stockpiles with standing water will be a nesting ground for mosquitoes, increasing the threat of West Nile virus and other illnesses, they said.
Although Heartland officials have said the plant will help get rid of 10 million unwanted tires a year, Van Gorp pointed out they will have to bring tires in from places like Chicago and Winnipeg, Canada.
"In the end the question is, ‘Who pays?'" Van Gorp said. "Who pays the price of environmental degradation wherever the wind blows and the water flows? The citizens of the tri-state area are the ones who will pay the price. Many people pay the price so a few can make a tremendous profit."
Dan Springer can be reached at (608) 791-8269 or dspringer@lacrossetribune.com.
