LABADIE, Mo. — Taking a deep breath comes at a cost in the St. Louis and Metro East area, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Small particles known to worsen lung, heart and neurological conditions, referred to as PM2.5, drift through the region's air. WHO healthy air quality guidelines are often exceeded in the region because of the particles' regular presence.
St. Louis City received a "D" grade and had the worst particle pollution in the area in the American Lung Association's 2024 State of the Air report.
According to the EPA, power plants, industries and automobiles are the main contributors to the region's unhealthy amount of the particles. Ameren Missouri's Labadie Energy Center is the St. Louis region's largest coal plant and among the nation's worst polluters, topping the Environmental Protection Agency's nationwide list for sulfur dioxide emissions and ranking among the country's top emitters of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The Labadie plant was also called the second "deadliest" in the nation in a recent Sierra Club report.
But, new EPA rules announced Thursday may lead to a cleanup of St. Louis' air, and a potential update, or even closure, of Ameren's Labadie plant. The new rules mean cleaner air for Missourians and neighboring states, but it's unclear what the rules' effect will be on the state's power grid and ratepayer costs.
EPA's 'historic announcement' in context:
The EPA's updated regulations target power plant pollution, specifically limiting toxic water pollution, coal ash waste, and hazardous air pollution.
The updated Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule, or MATS, could impact Ameren's Labadie plant. Ameren's Director of Environmental Services Craig Giesmann told 5 On Your Side the plant's sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions were below EPA's previous limits at 82% and 79% respectively. Giesmann also said the plant has previously installed multiple pollution controls at the site, including an electrostatic precipitator, low nitrous oxide burners and overfire air systems.
The Sierra Club expects the new rule, which significantly lowers PM2.5 emission limits nationwide, to easily put the Labadie plant out of compliance.
"As [Ameren] shows below, Labadie is comfortably below the current 0.03 lbs per MMBtu limit, but it would easily exceed either of the two proposals being evaluated by EPA," the Sierra Club said in comments sent to the Missouri Public Service Commission in 2023.
The new rules announced Thursday were the "base proposal" illustrated in the graph below.
What Ameren's Labadie plant may do in response:
One solution for lowering PM2.5 pollution, specifically sulfur dioxide, seen at other power plants in the nation is installing expensive pollution controls called "scrubbers," or large dishwasher-like machines that catch sulfur dioxide from power plant emissions.
Labadie is one of the only power plants in the nation without these types of modern pollution controls installed, the Missouri Chapter of the Sierra Club told 5 On Your Side. Since 1997, the EPA has promoted scrubbers as an effective and necessary health protection for power plants.
Ameren is analyzing the new rules before making any decisions regarding Labadie, according to the following release sent by Giesmann Thursday morning:
"The EPA released a significant amount of information today. We will take the necessary time to study it before determining any potential compliance requirements or schedules. We share the common goal to protect human health and the environment and continue air quality improvements.
In the coming weeks, we will closely review new regulations and analyze compliance methods to meet regulatory standards in a cost-effective way without compromising on grid reliability now or in the future."
Critics of Ameren told 5 On Your Side the Labadie plant has been running on the economic margin, meaning its continued operating cost is undercutting any profits it's generating.
Ameren refuted that claim, saying that the Labadie plant's costs are amongst the lowest in the Midwest and the industry at large.
An environmental law expert said Ameren may consider retiring, or closing, Labadie's units rather than spending money to invest in the pollution controls EPA will likely enforce, i.e. throwing money into an old plant. Ameren previously said it plans to fully retire the plant by 2042, but the new EPA regulations are anticipated to expedite that retirement. Sierra Club representatives held the same expectation.
“Labadie currently lacks industry-standard pollution controls to reduce harmful emissions, contributing to 195 premature deaths annually," said Jenn DeRose, Senior Field Organizer for the Sierra Club Missouri Beyond Coal Campaign. "Ameren knew these Clean Air and Water Act updates were coming and took a large risk ignoring them, planning to run its Labadie plant into the 2040s.”
Ameren is currently planning to close its Rush Island coal-fired power plant in Jefferson County after a federal court said the company would have to install expensive pollution controls after it illegally polluted the area's air for years.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Ameren to close Rush Island coal plant rather than make mandated changes
The Labadie plant's emissions remain under current EPA limits, but would exceed the limits from the updated rule. It's unclear whether the new rules will force Ameren to mirror Rush Island's retirement at Labadie.
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