Energy + Environment
Permit for Ameren Missouri’s Labadie coal plant was issued lawfully, commission says
Missouri’s Clean Water Commission agreed Tuesday that environmental regulators were correct to issue a permit allowing the state’s largest coal-fired plant to discharge superheated water into the Missouri River despite environmentalists’ contention the utility operating it should invest in newer technology. The commission’s vote upheld a determination by the Administrative Hearing Commission that a permit […]
Motorists give mixed reaction to refund plan for Missouri fuel tax hike
Pump prices for gas and diesel didn’t change much Friday in Missouri, despite being the first day of a 2.5 cents per gallon increase in the state fuel tax. The cheapest gas in the state was $2.49 a gallon in Springfield, according to GasBuddy.com. That was unchanged from earlier in the week. The most expensive, […]
Study: More than 80% of Missouri, 60% of Kansas kids have lead in their blood
Children in Missouri had elevated levels of lead in their blood at a greater rate than almost any other state, according to a massive national study published this week. And more than 80% of Missouri children had some level of lead in their blood. The study, authored by doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital and Quest […]
Springfield families accuse company of contaminating drinking water with carcinogen
A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday claims Springfield residents whose homes are supplied with well water were exposed to a chemical known to cause cancer. Northrop Grumman, a Virginia-based aerospace and defense company, knew but failed to notify area residents for more than a decade about the extent to which trichloroethylene, or TCE, had seeped from […]
Evergy scales back plans to add solar power by 2024
Evergy will keep open part of its Lawrence, Kansas, coal plant to run occasionally on natural gas despite earlier plans to shutter it completely and fall short of earlier pledges to add massive amounts of solar power to the electric grid, the utility revealed in regulatory filings this week. Earlier this year, Evergy filed its […]
Economist: Climate change, food scarcity demand ‘transformation’
A challenging combination of food scarcity and climate change-related threats to agriculture are driving calls for a “transformation” in food systems, an economist told environmental journalists this week. Those issues are expected to be discussed by world leaders at a special United Nations food systems conference Sept. 23 in New York. Channing Arndt, a development economist […]
Dairy farmer: Fix ‘broken’ milk pricing system
An Iowa dairy farmer appealed to a U.S. Senate subcommittee Wednesday to help fix a “broken” milk-pricing system she said has worsened conditions in an era of financial uncertainty. Christina Zuiderveen, managing partner of Black Soil Dairy LLC and an industry leader, said the federal milk marketing orders system “promised dairy producers that if their […]
Spire STL Pipeline can keep operating for now despite court ruling on ‘self-dealing’
The embattled Spire STL Pipeline can keep operating for up to 90 days while federal regulators weigh its fate over the coming months. The order, issued Tuesday morning by federal regulators, saves the pipeline from a court order that was expected to shut it down. Spire STL Pipeline is a 65-mile natural gas pipeline running […]
Agriculture section of federal reconciliation bill centers on climate change, enhancing research
WASHINGTON—The U.S. House Agriculture Committee on Monday finished marking up its section of the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package. The agriculture portion would provide funding for historically Black land grant colleges and investments in urban agriculture, along with boosting U.S. Department of Agriculture programs to address climate change threats in farming. The $66 billion agriculture measure passed along […]
Missouri’s largest wind farm isn’t running at night for fear of killing endangered animals
Every night for months, turbines at Missouri’s largest wind farm sit idle to avoid killing endangered and threatened bats. And now, as the wind farm’s owner, Ameren Missouri, seeks permission to increase customers’ rates, consumer advocates are sounding the alarm. They argue customers shouldn’t have to pay the full costs of the wind farm on […]
‘Simply unconscionable’: Advocates push Ameren to keep electric bills low during pandemic
Ameren Missouri should not increase its electrical rates for its customers as they struggle to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and economic fallout, a coalition of environmental, veterans and tenants advocates said Wednesday. The St. Louis-based utility filed with regulators in March seeking a rate increase worth nearly $300 million per year to pay for […]
White House seeks at least $24 billion to aid states struck natural disasters
WASHINGTON — The White House is urging Congress to approve at least $24 billion — and likely more — for disaster relief costs, saying that the aid should be included in a short-term spending bill expected this month. That tally includes $14 billion for recovery costs related to extreme weather events including hurricanes, floods and wildfires during […]