Ameren shareholders are holding the company accountable for coal ash contamination at current and former facilities in Illinois and Missouri.
Shareholders narrowly passed a resolution by the faith-based Midwest Coalition for Responsible Investment during the company’s annual meeting in Peoria today. It requires Ameren to publicly disclose its efforts to cleanup coal ash.
There are 25 coal-fired power plants in Illinois that all have combustion residual waste commonly called coal ash. Andrew Knott is with the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. He says coal ash is known to cause water contamination.
“It is in the best interests of both Ameren and its shareholders to clean-up coal ash waste sites and ensure communities and groundwater are protected for years to come,” Knott said.
The E.D. Edwards plant near Peoria used to be owned by Ameren. Ameren says it’s currently implementing federal coal ash rules while making modifications and changes needed to close all ash ponds, and will honor the request for a report in the next six months.
