AmerenUE has begun the proposal process for the landfill which would be used to store fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag and other slag waste generated from the combustion of coal.

Currently, the plant recycles portions of the fly ash collected into the production of concrete. Waste ash is mixed with water, which is referred to as slurry, and is stored in holding ponds.

"Labadie is unique in that it has the concrete manufacturing plant there. It recycles a good portion of the plant's ash," Tim Fox with AmerenUE said.

The concrete packaging facility opened in 2006 and is operated by Charah Inc.

It currently recycles more than 10,000 tons of fly ash and 60,000 tons of bottom ash annually into about 2 million bags of concrete mix.

"It's something we prefer to recycle and reuse. I think the company as a whole recycles 50 to 60 percent (of its ash)," he said.

The fly ash, which is light enough to escape into the flues, is captured by electrostatic precipitators, or ESPs, Fox said.

ESPs remove particles from flowing gas or air, according to the Compendium of Chemical Terminology, also referred to as the Gold Book.

"The ponds at Labadie are filling to the point that alternatives must be developed, and future ash production will be handled dry," according to an Ameren press release.

The waste management facility would be built on levee-protected property near the Missouri River.

To reduce air emissions, the plant will install new scrubbers in its flues. The product created from the new scrubbers, a sort of synthetic gypsum, will be usable in wall board production, Fox said.

"The scrubber really produces a completely different kind of material than the fly ash," he said.

Before devloping the landfill, both hydrological and geological studies will have to be conducted.

The Labadie plant went online in 1970.

Construction on the landfill is estimated to begin in 2012 and begin operating in 2013 or 2014.