Citizens warn council on coal ash

A handful of speakers warned City Council on Monday of the dangers of a CU coal ash landfill, but Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Seifried said the city has limited power over the utility provider.

Members of the Sierra Club said sites for potential expansion of City Utilities’ current coal ash landfill near the John Twitty Energy Center southwest of Springfield feature porous topography that could allow ash into the groundwater.

“The potential health implications should this landfill be allowed to be built are staggering,” speaker Jennifer Conner said.

Conner acknowledged that the Sierra Club opposes coal, but said in this particular case the group is asking CU to store the ash in a stable area.

While only a few spoke at the meeting, at least a dozen others attended in support.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has previously rejected several landfill sites proposed by CU during preliminary investigations.

However, during the 2013 General Assembly, lawmakers passed and Gov. Jay Nixon signed a bill exempting CU, and only CU, from the preliminary site investigation requirement, allowing the utility to proceed straight to a detailed site investigation, though DNR may still reject proposed sites.

“We want everyone to recognize that this is a significant health and economic issue,” speaker Judy Dasovich said.

Seifried — filling in for Mayor Bob Stephens, who left about halfway through the meeting because he was not feeling well — said input from citizens is always welcome but added that council’s power is limited.

“As we all move through this as a community, I can guarantee you we’re all concerned about balancing all of those issues. So I’ll just leave it at that,” Seifried said.

The city of Springfield has power over appointments to CU’s board, its budget and rates, city attorney Dan Wichmer said.

CU General Manager Scott Miller was present at the meeting and listened but did not address the council. He told the News-Leader that people sometimes forget that CU is also a water provider.

“In fact, I appreciate the whole group that was here tonight. They want good water quality; so do we. So to me, they’re after the same thing we are,” Miller said.

Miller noted that Roddy Rogers, CU’s previous manager of water treatment and supply, has been named manager of water resources projects and is heading up the landfill expansion process.

Rogers said in an interview last week that the detailed site investigation process is just beginning and could take years.