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Local Group Appeals Court Decision Allowing Coal Ash Landfill In Labadie

Véronique LaCapra, St. Louis Public Radio

A local environmental group filed an appeal this morning in an ongoing effort to keep Ameren from building a coal ash landfill next to its power plant in Labadie.

Last month, a circuit court judge ruled that the Franklin County Commission was in the right when it approved a zoning amendment that would allow construction of the landfill.

But a group of 12 Labadie families, led by the grassroots Labadie Environmental Organization, is challenging that decision.

They’re raising the same issues as in their original lawsuit, saying the commission didn’t let them discuss Ameren -- or the landfill -- directly during the zoning hearing.

The group also says the zoning regulations fail to "promote the health, safety and general welfare" of area residents.

Ameren says the new landfill will be safer than existing coal ash ponds. The utility company has already put in a request for a construction permit with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.