Originally published in the Washington Missourian
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Original Link: http://bit.ly/eiBNR5
(blogmasters note: for links to many news stories about this issue, check out the Labadie Environmental Organization website)
The Franklin County Commission Tuesday night held what may be the last public hearing on proposed land use regulations regarding landfills.
Commissioners took testimony from members of the public for about five hours in addition to a previous hearing, held Dec. 14. That hearing also lasted about five hours.
About 100 people turned out Tuesday night at East Central College.
Most who spoke were opposed to the county's amendments which would make utility landfills a permitted use in the county and require conditional use permits for nonutility waste landfills.
Commissioners previously have said they support requiring conditional use permits for both types of landfills, however.
Many opposed to the amendments spoke out against a proposed landfill at the Ameren Missouri power plant in Labadie.
The company is proposing a coal ash landfill on site because, company officials say, existing onsite retention ponds are nearing capacity.
Opponents, including the Labadie Environmental Group, argued that the county doesn't need to pass any regulations because without such regulations no landfills could be built.
County officials have said the opposite, claiming that without regulations anyone could build a landfill in the unincorporated parts of the county and the county would have no say.
Opponents and Ameren officials discussed reasons why the site, and the proposed amendments, should and should not be allowed.
County officials said once an official report has been prepared, copies of it will be available from the county at cost.
The county commission will make a ruling on the amendments in the future. Commissioners could make changes to the proposed amendments or reject or pass the amendments as they're written.
At the Dec. 14 hearing, several hundred people attended.
Hearings also were held over the summer before the county's planning and zoning commission.
That commission made changes to the original draft amendments and recommended those changes to the county commission last year.
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