Natchez has been referred to as a jewel among the many towns along the Mississippi River.

Tourism experts have called Natchez an unpolished &8212; but better than &8220;rough&8221; &8212; diamond waiting to see its true beauty and potential become evident.

But this week, the city was compared to a chicken. And, interestingly, the feathers and claws fit just right.

The &8220;chicken&8221; comment came from Joe Regnery, project manager for Rentech South, as he toured local leaders through a coal gasification plant under way in Iowa.

The plant will turn coal into liquid fuel, the same process planned for a $1 to $2 billion facility planned for a site near Natchez.

Regnery made the poultry reference to describe Natchez&8217;s uniqueness and the maximized potential of the plant here.

One of the biggest &8212; and arguably most troublesome &8212; byproducts of the Fisher Tropsch fuel conversion process is the production of carbon dioxide.

Normally, that would be a problem. The carbon dioxide gas needs to be contained and &8220;handled&8221; so it doesn&8217;t tear up the environment. But in Natchez, we have a great use for the gas &8212; pumping it deep below the earth&8217;s surface to fill voids in oil fields.

It&8217;s yet another reason why the Rentech plant looks to be a promising thing for our economy. It&8217;s the proverbial &8220;win-win&8221; situation about which we often hear. The only difference is that this chicken &8212; the one Rentech hopes to get every pluck from &8212; is in our backyard.