Yesterday evening 4 Sierra Club members from St. Louis and I drove to Union, MO. to attend the hearing held about proposed zoning requirements in the County related to a request by Ameren Missouri (formerly "UE"). The Corporation wishes to establish a 400 acre site in the floodplain of the Missouri River as a place to build a landfill for coal ash waste from the power plant in Labadie, Missouri. They have already purchased the land. Meanwhile, the Federal EPA has been examining whether coal ash (or "flyash") will be listed in the future as a hazardous material. Persons testifying were from Franklin County for the most part, with Labadie Environmental Organization in the lead of opposing such a plan. Members of Sierra Club also oppose it, especially the fact of planning it to be in the flood plain.
Some of us question why anyone would have considered such a plan as feasible. Residents of St. Louis County and City registered their opposition to such a threat to drinking water provided by the Missouri River all along the course of the River. A local physician, Dr. Friedman, testified to the existence of heavy metals in coal ash, and strongly advised that if contamination occurred it could cause multiple disorders in adults and developmental disorders in children or fetuses.
Presiding County Commissioner John E. Griesheimer seemed to believe that the whole matter is a simple one that concerns only the County itself, although all testimony was courteously received. The weight of the testimonials suggested that residents of the two counties agreed that the concerns about the coal ash itself outweighed any common zoning matter.
http://www.franklinmo.org/index.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_985304e5-b592-544b-a3fd-ab82a4839cba.html
http://www.emissourian.com/news/top_stories/article_dff3a726-0252-11e0-bba0-001cc4c03286.html
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/morning_call/2010/12/opponents-call-for-ameren-landfill-study.html
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kwmu/news.newsmain/article/0/0/1737671/St..Louis.Public.Radio.News/Ameren.to.build.coal.ash.landfill.in.Missouri.River.floodplain.No.way..say.some.Franklin.County.residents
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