"Residents Urge DNR to Deny Coal Ash Landfill Permit"

"The Missouri Department of Natural Resources should deny a construction permit for a proposed Ameren coal ash landfill in Labadie, residents said Tuesday.

Opponents raised concerns about groundwater contamination during a public hearing, which drew about 100 people to the Washington Knights of Columbus Hall.

But Ameren officials vow that the 166-acre landfill would be safe, and the company wants to start construction this summer.

Storing “toxic waste” in a floodplain and floodway of the Missouri River is “plain wrong,” said Petra Haynes, an officer with the Labadie Environmental Organization."

Josh Mitchell reports for the Columbia Missourian April 12, 2014.