New Report Shows that the Arkansas Utility, Entergy is Harming St. Louis Air Quality

Little Rock, Arkansas -- A new report demonstrates that two power plants operated by Entergy, the largest utility in Arkansas, are emitting enough pollution to make the unhealthy ozone smog problems worse in the St. Louis area. The report shows that smog-forming emissions from the Entergy White Bluff and Independence coal plants are elevating ozone levels by more than 4 times the amount public health agencies qualify as significant amount. Moreover, the plants are significantly impacting St. Louis ozone levels around 22 days per summer. These dangerous emissions of smog causing Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) could be reduced by 98% or more by installing Selective Catalytic Reduction, a widely used pollution control that has been around for more than 20 years.

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“The people of St. Louis have air quality that fails basic public health standards. For many years our local utility, Ameren, has failed to clean up its dirty coal plants," said John Hickey, Director of the Missouri Sierra Club. "Now, we find out that they have a partner-in-smog, Entergy, over the state line in Arkansas. Emissions from their two giant coal-burning plants are making the smog problem in St. Louis even worse. The state of Arkansas must stop this pollution. Federal and state officials have known for years that Entergy’s plants are among the dirtiest plants anywhere in the country. In 2014, the U.S. EPA had to propose rules to reduce emissions from the Entergy plants because they cloud the skies on federal lands in southern Missouri, like  the Mark Twain National Forest, Mingo Wildlife Refuge, and the Hercules Glade Wilderness area. New evidence now shows that the plants are hurting public health as well. The pollution technology Entergy needs to install has been used on coal-burning plants around the country for over 20 years and the people of St. Louis are suffering because a company all the way in Arkansas doesn’t want to pay for modern technology.” 

Families in St. Louis have been living for decades with summertime red and orange air quality days because of smog. Major causes of the harmful smog problem are the Ameren Sioux, Labadie, Rush Island, & Meramec coal-burning power plants located not far from St. Louis. Now evidence shows that Entergy is making the problem even worse as the pollution from the smokestacks of the Entergy plants blows north over the state line into southern Missouri and then up to St. Louis. These emissions from Arkansas cloud the skies in national forests and wilderness areas in southern Missouri and are making air quality poorer for the already impacted people of St. Louis.

“The brownish haze that you see in St. Louis when you look out from a tall building or when you are landing at the airport is a cocktail of smog that can trigger asthma attacks. The report being released today is very troubling, said John Kissel, M.D., retired St. Louis physician. "Entergy is making our ozone smog problem worse in St. Louis. Entergy could have reduced these emissions 20 years ago by installing readily-available modern pollution controls, but they have chosen profits over people’s health. It’s time for Missouri leaders to call on the state of Arkansas to stop polluting St. Louis.”