DNR eyes air monitoring near Ameren plants

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is planning to install air monitors near two power plants that officials say are the largest sources of sulfur dioxide emissions in the state.

The DNR is working on an agreement with Ameren Missouri to add sulfur dioxide monitors near the utility's Labadie plant in Franklin County and its Rush Island plant in Jefferson County, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

But an environmental group that's long advocated for more monitoring data is concerned the plan could delay action to limit the pollutant, which can cause respiratory ailments such as asthma. The Sierra Club worries that state officials may use the monitors to start a long, time-consuming process to collect and analyze data.

"What we don't want to see is the DNR put these monitors there and use this as a ruse to push back enforcement for three or four years," said John Hickey, the director of the group's Missouri chapter.

The state's natural resources department is also accepting comments on proposed rules to bring Jefferson and Jackson counties into compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency's limits on sulfur dioxide emissions. The EPA tightened 1970s limits in 2010, setting a limit of 75 parts per billion.

The DNR rules would set emission limits for the Labadie and Rush Island plants as well as Ameren's Meramec plant in south St. Louis County. Steve Whitworth, Ameren's environmental services director, said in a statement that the utility is reviewing the proposed rules and will submit written comments before the Feb. 11 deadline.

Ameren is facing a lawsuit from the U.S. Justice Department over sulfur dioxide emissions at its Rush Island plant. The federal department claims emissions increased after the utility made some modifications to the plant around 15 years ago that required a permit.