Edward Smith, edward.smith@sierraclub.org
St. Louis, MO – Ameren Missouri’s Rush Island power plant will no longer burn coal after Tuesday, October 15, 2024. A federal judge ruled that Ameren violated the Clean Air Act when it chose to make major modifications to improve the coal plant’s performance, in 2007 and 2010, without a permit or installation of the best available air pollution controls that are required by federal law, a decision that was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals. Instead of investing in pollution controls to keep the plant running after the federal court ruling, Ameren Missouri made the business decision to permanently close the plant.
“Ameren’s executives owe an apology to the people in our region because they knowingly harmed us with its illegal pollution, but I will not hold my breath considering they thought they could get away with it, like a Scooby-Doo villain,” said Gary Kappler, a nearby resident of the Rush Island coal plant. “We cannot hide from climate change, afford the insurance costs that come with it, and we need Ameren to change its course before it’s too late.”
Ameren’s Labadie coal plant is the largest sulfur dioxide (SO2) emitter in the nation while Rush Island was the sixth-largest emitter of the pollutant when fully operational. Dr. Joel Schwartz, a prominent scientist at Harvard’s School of Public Health and a key expert witness for the Department of Justice (DOJ) in the case, estimated that between 2007 and 2016, the violating emissions from Rush Island alone contributed to as many as 800 premature deaths.
Judge Sippel’s 2019 order was pointed, stating in part that:
Ameren’s arguments that Rush Island’s excess pollution was not harmful are not convincing...Ameren’s reliance on scientific uncertainty is misguided and its reliance on fringe toxicological evidence is unpersuasive...When Ameren decided to make major modifications to expand Rush Island’s capacity, Ameren refused to play by the rules Congress set.
The DOJ, Sierra Club, and Ameren remain in negotiations about a remedy to provide some kind of compensation for its illegal emissions at Rush Island. Attached to this press release is a record of facts related to this case. Just this week, Ameren was given a 19% in our Dirty Truth About Utility Climate Pledges report that evaluates major utilities plans to move from coal and gas to clean energy.
Statement from Gretchen Waddell Barwick, Chapter Director of the Missouri Sierra Club:
“Warner Baxter, Marty Lyons, and other Ameren executives knew they were irreparably harming our region when they chose to illegally pollute the air we breathe. Marty Lyons knows that his utility is harming not just our air, but our climate, given Ameren’s massive reliance on its other coal plants and Ameren’s plan to build a lot of new gas-burning power plants.
“Ameren’s disregard for public health is why its leaders plan to operate the Labadie coal plant into the 2040s. Labadie, which lacks modern pollution controls, is the top emitter of sulfur dioxide and is the second-deadliest power plant in the entire country. We all need Ameren’s executives to do better, because our health and a habitable future hang in the balance.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.