NATCHEZ &8212; Local officials on Tuesday made their case to legislators for $15 million to help get a fuel manufacturing plant to Adams County.

Supervisors President Darryl Grennell, Economic Development Authority Chairman Woody Allen and Rentech officials made 20-minute presentations on the proposed Rentech plant to both the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees.

On the House side, Ways and Means passed a bill including $15 million to fund work needed to prepare the old Belwood Country Club site at the port for the project.

The bill should be taken up by the full House this week or next, according to state Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Natchez. Senate Finance Chairman Thomas Robertson said that committee will vote on the bill today.

Nearly 20 local officials were present to support Grennell, Allen and company as they made presentations to Ways and Means Tuesday morning &8212; a surprise, since they were only scheduled to meet with the chairman &8212; and Senate Finance in the evening.

Grennell pointed out that the Rentech plant, which would gasify coal to create a cleaner type of diesel fuel, would mean 200 permanent jobs &8212; with an average salary of $45,000 plus benefits &8212; and 1,500 construction-phase jobs.

The plant could spin off other businesses and would mean much for all of southwest Mississippi, which lost thousands of jobs from the closings of the Johns Manville, International Paper and Titan Tire plants in recent years, Grennell said.

Senate Finance members spent several minutes asking questions of the delegation, from who would own the site where Rentech would locate &8212; Adams County, leasing it to the company for 40 years &8212; to what would happen if the Legislature didn&8217;t fork over the $15 million.

&8220;If we don&8217;t get the $15 million, &8230; it makes the project less attractive to the company,&8221; said Joseph Regnery, director of project development for the Colorado-based company. &8220;I&8217;ll leave it at that.&8221;

However, Regnery did add that several states &8212; Grennell himself named a dozen including Arizona, Wyoming, Illinois, Ohio and Alaska &8212; have contacted Rentech &8220;about having this technology in their states.&8221;

Did Senate Finance members buy the argument?

After the full Senate debated its controversial cigarette tax bill for more than five years, adjourning for the Finance meeting after 6 p.m., some said the committee was so tired it was difficult to tell.

&8220;But just the fact that they stayed (after a five-hour debate) means they&8217;re genuinely interested,&8221; said Johnson, who has also served in the Senate.

Sen. Bob Dearing, D-Natchez, said other legislators told him they were impressed by the number of local leaders who traveled to Jackson in support of the bill.

&8220;There&8217;s strength in numbers,&8221; Dearing said.