New report shows that the Arkansas utility Entergy is harming St. Louis air quality

A troubling new report by scientists at Sonoma Technology Inc. shows that two power plants operated by Entergy, the largest utility in Arkansas, are emitting pollution that is traveling to St. Louis, Missouri, and raising levels of harmful smog.

For decades, families in St. Louis have been living with air quality that fails basic public health standards. In summer months, the brownish haze in the city is a cocktail of smog that can trigger asthma attacks, heart problems, and weaken lung function even in healthy people.

While activists in St. Louis have been pushing back against the harmful smog coming from local coal plants owned by Ameren, Entergy has been silently playing its part in degrading the cities air quality from across the state line in Arkansas.

Please help us end coal pollution! Send a letter to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality to demand that they clean up emissions from the Entergy plants.

513

signatures of 0 goal

By clicking continue, you will also receive periodic communications from the Sierra Club. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Continue

By providing your mobile number you consent to receive cell phone and text communications from Sierra Club and its affiliated entities concerning environmental news and action opportunities.

By clicking continue, you will also receive periodic communications from the Sierra Club. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Title

First Name

Last Name

Street Address

City

State

Zip

Phone

Your Message

Subject

Default Subject Line
Customize Your Subject Line

Add a Personal Message

Personal messages make a big impact on decision makers. Please add a note about why this issue matters to you!

1000 characters remaining

Message

In reference to: “Revisions to the Arkansas State Implementation Plan Regional Haze SIP Revision for 2008–2018 Planning Period, October 2017”

I am very concerned about the impact of Entergy’s White Bluff and Independence coal plants on the air quality of Arkansas and Missouri. There is a plan already in place from 2016 that would require both plants to clean up emissions. Unfortunately, your agency appears willing to remove those requirements and replace them with a weak new plan that will allow those plants to continue operating with high emissions.

There is a troubling new report about the impacts of the emissions from the Entergy’s plants on the people of St. Louis. The report, by scientists at Sonoma Technology Inc., demonstrates that those two plants are emitting enough pollution to make the unhealthy ozone smog problems worse in St. Louis. Smog-forming emissions from the Entergy White Bluff and Independence plants are elevating ozone levels by more than 3.6 ppb, many times the level of significance. This report further demonstrates that the Entergy plants are elevating levels of ozone in the St. Louis area 22 days per summer. The technology that could reduce smog and haze forming emissions from these coal plants - so-called “selective catalytic reduction” - has been available for more than 20 years, but these plants are not using it.

I strongly support the existing 2016 clean air plan that would require the two plants to greatly reduce their emissions, and I strongly oppose the weak plan that ADEQ is currently considering. Whether its for the sake of clearing the skies on federal lands like the Upper Buffalo Wilderness Area in Arkansas or in the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri, or especially for the sake of protecting human health from higher levels of smog in cities like St. Louis, please clean up emissions from the Entergy coal plants as soon as possible.

4000 characters remaining