Ameren is committed to environmental excellence obtained by integrating environmental management and sustainability principles into our operations, business planning and decision-making. Environmental stewardship is assured by the work done to reduce emissions and waste, and to preserve natural resources. This stewardship is demonstrated in the sites where we operate energy generation facilities through their entire lifecycle as well as those sites we manage where predecessor's operations have long-since ceased, such as manufactured gas plant (MGP) sites. Operations at some of these sites started in the 1850's, where gas was manufactured by heating coal. As gas became more abundant, these sites were closed down, leaving behind by-products, like coal tar, buried at many of those sites.
Ameren management has responsibility for remediation projects throughout our service territory, working with multiple state and federal regulatory agencies to update and complete site closure plans. Ameren works with those agencies to move each project to site closure, allowing for land rehabilitation, repurposing, and/or re-use. Ameren engages with multiple stakeholders, including local community members and leaders during project planning to minimize community disruption, and ultimately return the remediated landscape to something useful.
As projects progress, and regulations evolve, Ameren continues to evaluate the associated business impact, and adjust environmental funds accordingly. As an example of information available to the public on several of these projects, please refer to the links below:
The files found on this website are a collection of documents associated with the Champaign MGP Remediation Project. In addition to this website, site information repositories are maintained at the Douglass Branch of the Champaign Public Library, 504 E. Grove Street, and at the information desk of the Champaign City Building, 102 N. Neil Street.
Currently, coal is the primary fuel source at Ameren's four energy centers: Labadie, Meramec, Rush Island and Sioux. Burning coal produces steam that drives electric generators and creates byproducts known as coal combustion residuals, or CCRs, which include fly ash and bottom ash. Ameren takes steps to manage CCRs responsibly and safely. Plans are being implemented to close legacy ash basins and more detailed information is available at the flowing link: