(AP) — Some Omaha community groups are urging OPPD to phase out coal power and invest in more renewable energy production through wind and solar power.

The Sierra Club, Malcolm X Foundation and other groups presented a petition with more than 900 signatures on it to the Omaha Public Power District on Thursday.

The groups are especially concerned about OPPD’s north Omaha coal plant and its effect on the health of people who live nearby.

Retired nurse Cynthia Tiedeman says she worries that the pollutants emitted by the coal plant can irritate neighbors’ throats and lungs.

OPPD says it relies on the north Omaha coal plant to help it meet the power demands of more than 300,000 customers in southeast Nebraska.