LABADIE, Mo. (AP) - Ameren Corp.'s plan for a coal waste dump in an eastern Missouri floodway has moved a step forward.
Ameren operates a power plant along the Missouri River in the Franklin County town of Labadie (LA'-buh-dee) and dumps coal ash into two ponds. Those ponds are near capacity and Ameren wants to fill the river bottom with coal waste and surround it with a 20-foot-tall levee.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports many residents oppose the idea. They worry toxins will leach into groundwater or wash into the river.
On Wednesday, Franklin County commissioners gave the county attorney until July 19 to draft a zoning amendment allowing the coal ash dump. Commissioners discussed possible conditions, such as requiring the dump's floor to be above the 100-year flood plain.
The commission plans to review the draft amendment July 25.
Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com