House Energy Committee endorses coal ash bill

For the second time this year, the Missouri House Utilities Committee has endorsed a bill changing some of the state's regulations of coal ash, the residue left after coal is burned to generate electricity.

That ash generally is stored in water pits that, if not properly lined and monitored, can leak unwanted metals and chemicals into groundwater supplies.

Opponents also complain many of Missouri's coal ash pits are in flood plains along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, and the flooding allows the ash to spread to other communities.

After hearing testimony on the proposal Wednesday morning, the committee voted 8-3 to send the Senate's version of the bill to the full House for debate.

Sen. Sandy Crawford, R-Buffalo, told the House committee her bill gives the state's Natural Resources Department the authority to make rules and approve target levels for the management, closure and post-closure of what are called "coal combustion residual," or CCR, units.

"If we don't adopt a policy as a state, then the federal rules will apply," Crawford explained. "This bill will give DNR the authority to administer the program on behalf of the EPA (federal Environmental Protection Agency).

"It sets up a framework and the fee structure for our state's CCR policy."

She said the bill would allow DNR to "manage a program that's more state-specific - more than the (federal) one-size-fits-all approach that we would have, if we go with the EPA program."

And, she testified, the state's regulated utilities will pay for the program's costs through fees.

"It's important to note that the legislation has been a cooperative effort between the regulated community and DNR," Crawford said, "and this will assure that DNR has the resources - i.e., the money - and the authority to manage the state program."

She said the EPA still would have to approve whatever plan Missouri's DNR developed.

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry supports the bill because "it makes sense for DNR" to continue enforcing regulations while also working closely with industries and utility companies.

Ultimately, there were more opponents than supporters testifying on the bill Wednesday.

Michael Berg of the Missouri Sierra Club said, "There's no need for this bill.

"The Missouri Department of Natural Resources already has the authority under the existing law to regulate coal ash disposal."

The state already regulates coal ash disposal sites through DNR's clean water permits, he said.

Berg added, "The purpose of this bill is to ensure that Missouri has a very weak coal ash program.

"It would replace existing water quality standards for groundwater clean-up procedures with so-called risk-based standards that utilities would set for themselves."

Lacey Hirschvogel of the Missouri Association of Missouri Utilities told the committee: "The department needs this bill to move forward, in order to establish the correct fee structure in order to have a program to run their CCR program."

Without it, she said, DNR won't have funding to hire inspectors and enforcement staff "to go out to these coal ash ponds and regulate appropriately."

And that would lead to more expensive and long-running civil suits to force regulations.

Hirschvogel also argued the federal Clean Water Act only protects surface waters and not the groundwater many people rely on for their water - and that is most threatened by coal ash storage.

Former Franklin County Commissioner Ann Schroeder said coal ash problems at Ameren Missouri's Labadie plant guide her to support stronger regulations than the proposed law would have.

"I think the public is quite aware of what's going on in Missouri," she said, "and I think we need to step up our game to take care of it."

Biologist Patricia Schuba noted she now lives in Labadie, "home of the largest coal-fired power plant in the state."

Its two ash ponds pose health dangers, especially to nearby residents, she told the committee.

"One of them is over 100 acres and is probably around 50 feet deep into the water table," she said. "It is leaking because it has no liner."

She said the coal ash reservoirs pose potential health problems especially for those area residents who live close to a power plant and its coal ash residue.

"This is a really important decision that you're making because you're limiting what DNR can do."

Studies have shown excess amounts of arsenic and boron around coal ash sites in the St. Louis area - all owned by Ameren, she testified.

Missouri's topography allows sinkholes to form throughout the state, she added, creating the potential for more groundwater contamination.

Committee Chairman Rocky Miller, R-Lake Ozark - who is an engineer - said good engineering work will protect the groundwater, even in sinkhole-prone areas.