Dive Brief:

• The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has green-lighted a construction permit for a coal ash landfill in Labadie, MO.
• The permit was granted with certain caveats in place, including the addition of a protective liner and the installation of pollution monitoring equipment. 
• The DNR also requires that the landfill be in compliance with the new federal laws addressing coal ash disposal.

Dive Insight:

An opposition group, the Labadie Environmental Organization, currently has pending appeals in the Missouri Supreme Court and Franklin County Circuit Court, and may still challenge the decision. 

The president of that organization, Patricia Schube, said that the group is keeping its options open in regard to the appeals, but also suggested that certain mandates within the DNR permit could be a “win-win” for the community.