(Associated Press) – The St. Louis-based electric utility Ameren Corp. said in a court filing Tuesday that it will close a coal plant several years early, a move that follows a court order this summer requiring pollution controls that would potentially cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
The plant sits along the Mississippi River near Festus, Missouri, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of St. Louis. In August, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling in a decade-old lawsuit, ordering Ameren to install pollution control equipment.
The federal government argued that modifications in 2007 and 2010 without proper permits led to increased sulfur dioxide emissions because the plant could burn more coal. Sulfur dioxide is a byproduct of burning coal that can harm the respiratory system.
Ameren had previously planned to close Rush Island in 2039. The court filing didn’t give a specific closure date but said it would be before the March 2024 compliance date required by the court.
