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Ameren Missouri announced plans to upgrade its grid and build new power plants to meet an anticipated increase in demand from companies moving to the state.

Missouri environmental groups are decrying proposed state rules that would allow power plants to discharge contaminants like coal ash into groundwater through a general permit for multiple facilities. Power plants currently have individual, site-specific permits.

Of the nation's 10 coal-fired power plants that produce the most sulfur dioxide, four are located in the Midwest. And yet, none violate Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards.

More than half of Illinois' 23 coal plants are closed, and five more will be shuttered this decade. Without clear rules for demolitions, activists say more environmental problems are likely to occur.

They鈥檙e worried Madison County will see a repeat of what happened in Chicago last year, when a similar demolition sent a large cloud of dust over one of the city鈥檚 neighborhoods.

Missouri and Illinois are producing less carbon pollution than a decade ago but are still emitting more than many other states, according to the U.S.鈥�

Hearings begin in Jefferson City Monday morning on a proposed coal ash landfill in Franklin County.Power company Ameren is seeking the Missouri Public鈥�

Updated Thursday 10:15 p.m.The Sierra Club says Ameren has been routinely violating air quality standards at its St. Louis-area power plants.In a Notice鈥�

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Aug. 10, 2012 - Despite being named to the Natural Resources Defense Council鈥檚 鈥淭oxic 20鈥� list for鈥�