LABADIE (AP) – State regulators have cleared the way for a proposed coal ash landfill in eastern Missouri.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Missouri Department of Natural Resources granted a construction permit for the landfill on Friday. The landfill would serve Ameren Missouri’s Labadie power plant.

Labadie residents and other project opponents say the landfill in the Missouri River flood plain could contaminate the local drinking water supply. Ameren says the landfill will have a protective liner and extensive pollution monitoring equipment. The company says it is needed as on-site coal ash storage ponds become full.

The DNR permit will require Ameren to comply with new federal rules governing coal ash. That was a concession to opponents who had urged the department to wait for the new rules.

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