Pollution Controls on Missouri Coal Plants Save Lives

St. Louis, MO – A report released by the Sierra Club today reveals that by strengthening and enforcing federal air quality standards, the owners of 64% of remaining coal plants would be required to more stringently address harmful pollution from their facilities. Ameren Missouri and Associated Electric Cooperatives Inc. (AECI) own and operate two of the top seventeen largest coal plants that contribute to premature deaths from particulate matter air pollution. 

The report, titled “Under Controlled: How Federal Rules Could Curb Coal Plant Pollution,” analyzes the impact that strengthened and strongly enforced Clean Air Act standards for ozone pollution, regional haze pollution, sulfur dioxide, mercury, and other toxic air pollutants could have on coal plants across the country. The report details how each proposed or enforced rule would impact Ameren’s Labadie coal plant (pg. 13) and AECI’s New Madrid coal plant (pg. 14). 

Air pollution from coal plants can be reduced with a variety of readily available pollution control technologies, and the report investigates which coal plants would be required to install or upgrade pollution controls to limit harmful sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter, or pursue retirements under strengthened and strongly enforced air quality standards. 

The report is also accompanied by a Summary for Policymakers and the Public, which includes stories about communities affected by pollution from coal plants and highlights from the technical analysis.

Key findings of the report include: 

• On average, coal-fired generating units without controls for nitrogen oxide (NOx) and/or controls for soot are twice as deadly as coal plants that are fully controlled. Units that lack controls for sulfur dioxide (SO2) are more than three times as deadly. 
• Generating units impacted by the rules analyzed account for 66% of premature deaths from soot pollution, as well as 68% of SO2 emissions and 65% of NOx emissions.
• By generating capacity, over 50% of remaining coal units that lack one or more pollution controls, and 80% of units that are totally uncontrolled would face a decision point on retrofitting with pollution controls or retiring to comply with strengthened and enforced air quality standards. Ameren’s Labadie coal plant lacks all modern pollution controls. 

Statement from Jenn DeRose, Missouri Campaign Representative for Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign: 

“Ameren and AECI own and operate two of the deadliest coal plants in the country, yet both utilities refuse to add or operate modern pollution controls that would literally save lives. That’s not what a good neighbor does. Ameren and AECI will not clean up their power plants unless the EPA strongly enforces its rules established under the Clean Air Act by Congress. President Biden and his EPA need to ensure strong enforcement of our clean air safeguards for people to breathe easy at home, while visiting our nation’s most wild and scenic public lands, and everywhere in-between.”