BOUTON, Iowa (AP) – An ethanol plant in Menlo won’t agree to raise the contracted rate it pays for water from a financially

troubled rural district. According to The Des Moines Register, Xenia Rural Water District officials say Flint Hills Resources refuses to amend its 20-year contract to allow a 60 percent rate increase.

Xenia’s other, mostly residential customers likely face another rate hike. The average residential bill is about $90 a month, up from $55 last year. Another rate increase could raise that to more than $100 a month.

Xenia’s aggressive expansion plans never materialized, leaving it with crushing debt. It serves portions of 12 west-central Iowa counties.