EPA Sues Ameren For Alleged Emissions Law Violations: Ed Martin Blames "Big Government"

The EPA has filed a 26-page lawsuit against Ameren UE, claiming that Ameren performed modifications without the necessary permits and failed to install the pollution controls required by law. From the Post-Dispatch:

According to the EPA, Ameren made modifications at the plant from September 2001 to February 2002 without necessary permits and failed to install best available pollution control technology.

Those changes, the agency says, 'significantly increased" emissions of sulfur dioxide and particulate matter, two pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act.

While Jefferson County meets national air-quality standards for sulfur dioxide, the county is currently designated as a "nonattainment" area for particulate matter, meaning it doesn't meet standards.

The lawsuit says Ameren didn't disclose the changes at Rush Island to the EPA or the state.

"On the contrary, Ameren filed annual statements with Missouri and the U.S. EPA that certified compliance with the Clean Air Act," the lawsuit says.

The EPA didn't discover the changes until an investigation in 2008.

Ed Martin, of course, decided not to bother waiting for any more information to come out. He's already decided that this is an example of "Big Government run amok:"

Yeah, who needs stupid things like laws and courts? We can just have Ed Martin tell whether things are legal based on his 0.02 seconds of reflection.