Edward Smith, edward.smith@sierraclub.org
St. Louis, MO – Ameren Missouri must pay up to $61,000,000 to compensate the region for the illegal pollution emitted from the now-shuttered Rush Island coal plant that it owns near Festus, Missouri.
Following a federal judge’s decision (affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals) that Ameren illegally polluted the air at its Rush Island coal plant in violation of the Clean Air Act, a remedy settlement was recently reached between the monopoly utility, the United States Department of Justice, and the Sierra Club.
The $61,000,000 is split between two funding streams: one is the “HEPA Purifier Program” with a $25,000,000 budget, and the other is the “Electric Buses & Charging Infrastructure Program” with a $36,000,000 budget.
The HEPA program will offer a $200 voucher for up to 125,000 residential customers to acquire a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) purifier device from a qualified vendor. Following a pilot period to work out any implementation issues, distribution will prioritize census tracts with the lowest median income and move the income scale up until at least 125,000 offers have been tendered.
The electric school bus program aims to put 80 zero-emissions, all-electric buses into service along with one charging station, with no fewer than two charging ports, per electric bus. Accepting a new bus is conditional on decommissioning, selling, or donating an existing diesel bus per the terms of agreement. Buses that are a model-year 2010 or older must be scrapped or rendered inoperable, whereas buses with a model-year 2011 or newer can be scrapped, sold, or donated. A school district that does not own or control a diesel bus will not be required to decommission a bus in order to participate in the program.
Should money remain in the HEPA program after outreach is complete or the electric bus program by the end of 2026, the balance will transfer into a Weatherization and Energy Efficiency Project fund. This fund will support investments in residential buildings in Ameren’s service area that prioritize low-income and disadvantaged communities. Examples of projects include floor, wall, and attic insulation, sealing of windows and doors, duct sealing, and passive solar retrofits.
The notice of settlement will be published in the Federal Register in the next few days, followed by a 30-day public comment period, after which the Department of Justice will evaluate any comments and determine whether to move for entry of the settlement. The legal filings today include the joint notice, proposed remedy, and an exhibit that supports the distribution of air filter resources to residential customers.
Once final, it will take a few years for Ameren's distribution and eventual completion of these projects. Ameren’s history of minimizing its harm through public relations and greenwashing activities does not reduce the real harm that occurred due to Rush Island’s 10+ years of illegal operations. Ameren went as far as telling the Missouri Public Service Commission, after losing twice in federal court, that “no rational utility would have done anything differently with respect to Rush Island.” Utility greenwashing is one of the reasons why the Sierra Club releases its Dirty Truth About Utility Climate Pledges report annually, for which Ameren scored 13 out of 100 points in the latest assessment released in October.
Statement from Jenn DeRose, Senior Field Organizer for the Sierra Club’s Missouri Beyond Coal Campaign:
“Ameren broke the law and now it has to pay, but its money cannot bring back the innocent lives that utility executives cut short or repair the environmental harms of the illegal and toxic air pollution spewed by the coal plant. I cannot stress enough that civic leaders need to understand that Ameren’s unethical business decisions harm our communities, whether it’s polluting our air and water, slow-walking the transition from coal and gas to clean energy, or disconnecting people from electricity that they desperately need to survive. While people shouldn’t hold their breath that CEO Marty Lyons will apologize for Ameren’s decision to illegally harm our region, there are 61 million reasons why people should be highly skeptical of the monopoly utility’s business decisions.”
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.