Labadie, Mo. (KMOX) – Does a lawsuit filed against an Illinois power plant last week point to a need for tougher regulation in Missouri?  One group that thinks so.

The Illinois Attorney General claims Ameren Energy Resources illegally disposed of tens of thousands of tons of coal ash at a power plant in Peoria.  The company tells KMOX the byproduct was properly used as a base for an on-site rail line.

The head of the Labadie Environmental Group says the Illinois action points to weakness in Missouri laws.

“Despite what Illinois does to monitor around coal ash sites, there’s still situations where communities are put at risk.  And if you look at Missouri we don’t have even those protections.”

Patricia Schuba says as a first step, LEO is hoping Missouri lawmakers will approve a resolution this session asking state regulators to monitor groundwater around such sites.  Ash from coal is known to contain metals such as mercury, lead and cadmium, that studies link to disease including cancer.   For more than two years, LEO has been fighting a planned coal ash landfill at Ameren Missouri’s Labadie Power Plant — a circuit judge dismissed the group’s lawsuit last month.