Sierra Club: Proposed Illinois power plant could affect Mingo

PUXICO, Mo. -- The Mingo National Wildlife Refuge is being profiled in a national report because of a potential environmental risk.

On Thursday, the Sierra Club released "America's Great Outdoors," a report that highlights one threatened wildlife area in every state. The organization chose Mingo for Missouri because of a coal-fired power plant Peabody Energy plans to build in Washington County, Illinois.

Jill Miller, conservation organizer for the Sierra Club in Missouri, said a study completed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that the proposed plant could adversely affect Mingo, even though it would be built about 85 miles to the north.

"Air currents vary quite a bit, but there is a common misconception that wind only blows east to west," Miller said. "That is not the case, especially in the complex river basin here next to the Mississippi."

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has approved an air pollution permit for Peabody to produce more than 25,000 tons of pollution per year. But Miller said construction has been put on hold because a three-state coalition of environmental organizations has entered an appeal.

Miller said Mingo, which is just outside of Puxico, has the last large tract of bottomland cypress trees in Southeast Missouri. It is also an important stop for many migratory birds.