Spring 2015

GREATRIVERS

Great Rivers Environmental Law Center319 North Fourth Street • Suite 800 • St. Louis, MO 63102 • (314) 231-4181 • www.greatriverslaw.org

NonprofitOrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDSt. Louis, MO

Permit No. 0257

Environmental Law CenterLawyers for the Environment

319 North Fourth StreetSuite 800St. Louis, MO 63102

(314) 231-4181 phone(314) 231-4184 faxwww.greatriverslaw.org

GREATRIVERS

REPORTERRETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Great Rivers’ ClimateChange Program Victory:

Customers In Joplin, Missouri And Surrounding Communities Now Have Incentives To Install Solar Panels,

Reducing Reliance On Coal-Fired Power Plants.

Photo by Michael Coghlan

Great Rivers Prevails in Case Against Empire District Electric Company

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE PROGRAM S continued from page 6

Rivers’ work investigating polluting plants located in the Old North and Hyde Park neighborhoods, and interested in helping clean up the area. It seems that governmental agencies have not added up the total pollutants emitted into the neighborhoods in which people still live today as they have for centuries. Great Rivers is advocating governmental agencies to help clean up the area.

Fighting an Asphalt Plant in Grandview, Missouri

The City of Grandview, Missouri, contacted Great Rivers about a hot mix asphalt plant recently constructed in Kansas City, Missouri, just across the boundary line the City of Grandview shares with the City of Kansas City. The Grandview School District and many residents in close proximity to the asphalt plant are concerned about the short and long-term environmental, health,

and land use development impacts arising from the plant’s operations. Representatives of these groups are interested in challenging the construction permit issued by the City of Kansas City.

In 2013, Great Rivers filed suit on behalf of a citizens group, Concerned Citizens for Air, Inc., and the City of Grandview against the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The Circuit Judge issued a temporary restraining order on October 15, 2013, restraining the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) from issuing a permit for a permanent asphalt plant at the current location (the facility currently is operating under a temporary permit). The case has been complicated and up and down in several courts, including the Missouri Supreme Court, but is again before the trial court.

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Letter fromthe President:

Your Donations Have Made A Difference!

Great Rivers has had three recent successes: the trial court victory on the Olivette Parks measure; the Missouri Supreme Court victory on the Empire District Electric Company solar rebate exemption; and the developer’s withdrawal of an application to build a concrete plant on rolling hills next to the Shaw Nature Reserve. These victories have both local and global consequences: the Olivette issue ensures that Olivette’s parks will not be sold by the City without a vote of the people; the Empire District Electric victory encourages people to install solar panels, reducing the state’s dependence on coal; and the concrete plant victory means that the Meramec River will be spared pollutants from a concrete plant.

These issues reflect trends across the country: the U.S. government proposed selling parks a few years ago to raise money for schools but abandoned that idea after receiving letters in opposition; states that pass renewable energy laws such as Florida and Arizona are fighting attacks on them; and cities allow developments on areas that are not zoned industrial when cities hear that jobs will be created even if those promises are not realistic. We are fortunate to have defeated bad proposals in these instances.

It is your donations that make these victories possible. In all three of these matters, the clients could not afford to pay private attorneys but depended on our nonprofit law firm to assist them. We are grateful to our donors and recognize them in the center of this issue.

Kathleen Henry

✍

BOARD NEWS Great Rivers Board Member Kay Drey was interviewed on KMOX radio by Kevin Killeen on April 21, 2015, calling for a “Total Removal of Nuclear Waste in Bridgeton.” Kay is calling on federal authorities to remove all radioactive waste from West Lake Landfill, which is located in the Missouri River floodplain above drinking water intakes for St. Louis City and County.

WETLAND PRESERVATION PROGRAM

“Halt the Rapid Loss of Wetlands in the Mississippi River Corridor”

Great Rivers is working to end the rapid loss of wetlands within the Mississippi River corridor. We are advocating for the Army Corps of Engineers to implement the mitigation reforms of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (“WRDA 2007”), along with the mitigation requirements of the 2008 EPA/Corps Compensatory Mitigation Rule.

We are focusing on a very destructive project the Corps has planned: the New Madrid floodway project. In this project, the Corps will close the last remaining connection the Mississippi River has to its floodplain in the state of Missouri. This is a $165 million taxpayer boondoggle, and will increase the potential for flooding in a dozen communities and harm fish and wildlife through the central portion of the Mississippi River. Great Rivers continues

its advocacy while waiting for the Corps to issue a final environmental impact statement.

Corps Routinely Violates Freedom of Information ActWe are concluding efforts in a lawsuit against the Corps’ St. Louis District for its failure to release documents in permit files for permits that have yet to be issued. The position taken by the Corps severely limits Great Rivers’ ability to take action on proposed permits and hinders the ultimate goal of the work to minimize the loss of wetlands in the area. We have brought three lawsuits in two years against the Corps over its failure to release documents, and have settled all three after the Corps released the documents. It should not take a lawsuit for the Corps to release documents that are clearly supposed to be public.

CLIMATE CHANGE PROGRAM continued from page 3

Great Rivers Presses Utilities to Use Less CoalWork Against Ameren Missouri

Great Rivers represents the Natural Resources Defense Council (“NRDC”) and the Sierra Club (“SC”) as local counsel in proceedings in the Public Service Commission concerning Ameren Missouri. Ameren filed a rate case in July, 2014 and a long-range plan (IRP) in October, 2014, and has filed a second energy efficiency (EE) plan for the three-year cycle 2016–18 later this year. Great Rivers will be contributing a major amount of work directed to retiring coal plants, resisting new nuclear capacity, and strengthening renewable energy and efficiency by Ameren.

Our clients object to Ameren’s new EE plan because it would save only half as much energy as the first plan Ameren made, but cost almost as much. They object to Ameren’s IRP because it fails to account for the EPA’s Clean Power Plan to reduce CO2 emissions from existing power plants; indeed, Ameren has no attention of abiding by it but is trying to get EPA to delay and weaken it. In the rate case, the SC is challenging the prudence of spending money on environmental upgrades to Ameren’s 45-year old coal-fired Labadie plant, instead of investing in clean energy.

Work Against Kansas City Power & Light

Kansas City Power and Light (“KCP&L”) filed a rate case in late 2014 seeking compensation for over a billion dollars in environmental upgrades to an aging coal-fired power plant. KCP&L’s efficiency programs are underperforming compared to Ameren’s. Great Rivers represents the Sierra Club along with Earthjustice, and is challenging $1.3 billion in upgrades to the 40-year-old LaCygne power plant in Kansas. On behalf of SC, NRDC and the National Housing Trust, we are also challenging KCPL’s attempt to increase the residential customer charge from $9 to $25, as this would discourage customers from conserving energy. This is a fixed charge that all customers

pay regardless of how much energy they use. Increasing it will penalize people who use little electricity and act as a disincentive to adopt efficiency measures.

Early in April KCPL filed its Integrated Resource Plan, a long-range plan filed every three years. KCPL has recently given encouraging signs by announcing the retirement of a number of coal-burning generators and increasing their investment in wind. However, their efficiency programs have underperformed Ameren’s and they still intend to retrofit aging power plants that should be retired instead. We will be raising these issues with our clients.

BOARD NEWS

Great RiversEnvironmental Law Center

Lawyers for the Environment(a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit corporation)

Mission StatementWe provide free and reduced-fee legal services tocitizens’ groups, organizations and individuals who

seek to protect and preserve the environment.

Founding PresidentLewis C. Green(1924 - 2003)

Board of DirectorsRichard D. Lageson, Chairman

Joyce ArmstrongDavid R. Bohm

Beatrice ClemensKay Drey

Wayne GoodeLouise Green

Roger HersheyRon Kucera

Matthew P. McCauleyKen Midkiff

Cathy PrimmJohn A. Rava Thomas SagerBen Senturia

James ShrewsburyJames J. Wilson

StaffKathleen Green Henry, President

Dianne Klein, Office ManagerBob Menees, Staff Attorney

Bruce A. Morrison, General CounselJim Pudlowski, Director of Development

Henry B. Robertson, Staff Attorney

2

Charles R. AbeleTimothy V. BarnhartDavid R. BohmRichard L. ConstanceMaurice B. GrahamElkin L. KistnerHugh R. Law

Office Address319 North Fourth Street, Suite 800

St. Louis, MO 63102(314) 231-4181

(314) 231-4184 (facsimile)e-mail: khenry@greatriverslaw.orgWebsite: www.greatriverslaw.org

Francis OatesStephen ReynoldsJohn G. RoachSharon TurlingtonDeborah WaferPatricia L. WendlingDoug Williams

Letter fromthe President:

The Sixth Mass Extinction PresentsEnormous Challenges

In May 2014, the journal Science published a studyshowing that human activity has driven current ratesof species extinction to 1,000 times faster than thenatural rate. The study, led by conservation expertStuart Pimm, also warns that without drastic action,the sixth mass extinction could be imminent. Fromhabitat loss to invasive species to climate change tooverfishing, humans are contributing to the plummetin biodiversity.

Elizabeth Kolbert’s book, “The Sixth Extinction: AnUnnatural History,” also published this year, makesclear that if we continue with business as usual,human beings will become an endangered speciesand eventually extinct. Kolbert points out that theconcentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere isthe highest it has been in at least 800,000 years andthe rate of warming is ten times faster than inprevious interglacial periods, meaning far too fast fora great many species to migrate or adapt. There isalso explosive human population growth and man’stransformation of more than half the planet’shabitable landscape, destroying and fragmentinghabitats, all leading to the extinction of more speciesin a shorter period of time than ever before.

Great Rivers works to ensure that future generationshave a healthy and ecologically diverse environmentin which to live. It is outrageous that our state stillrelies on the burning of coal for 80% of its energy.Solar, wind and energy efficiency technologies arebeing used to a much greater extent by other states.Ameren Missouri, Empire District Electric Company,Kansas City Power and Light, the Public ServiceCommission, and elected officials all must do theirpart to help save our species— the fight has comecloser to home and humankind is at risk.

We thank our donors who understand this and makeour work possible.

Kathleen Henry

Board NewsWe wish Board Member Beatrice Clemens aspeedy recovery from her chemotherapy andradiation treatments.

�

7

Advisory Law Committee

Great Rivers Environmental Law Center Presented Lewis C. Green Environmental Service Awardsto Dr. Jeffrey Bonner, CEO of the St. Louis Zoo

On October 5, 2014, Great RiversEnvironmental Law Center presentedits Lewis C. Green EnvironmentalService Award to Jeffrey Bonner, Ph.D., Dana Brown President and CEOof the St. Louis Zoo, at its 9thAnnual Awards Party. Great Riverspresents this award annually toindividuals or programs that haveshown long-time commitment to thepreservation of the environment.

In April 2002 Dr. Bonner wasappointed President & CEO of theSaint Louis Zoo. In 2009 his position

was endowed by the Dana Brown Charitable Trust. UnderDr. Bonner’s leadership, the St. Louis Zoo has developed a new conservation education program and focused its fieldconservation initiatives under a single WildCare Institute—aforce for saving animals across the globe. In Missouri, theInstitute has reintroduced endangered Ozark Hellbendersand American burying beetles and begun working to savepollinators and river turtles.

Dr. Bonner has chaired the Association of Zoos andAquariums, the Amphibian Ark, the International SpeciesInformation System and the Madagascar Fauna and FloraGroup. He has served on the board of the WorldAssociation of Zoos and Aquariums and currently serveson several boards, including the Conservation BreedingSpecialist Group, BioSTL, Higher Education Channel TV,Forest Park Forever and St. Louis Regional Chamber ofGrowth Association (RCGA). He is a member of TheExplorers Club, the Academy of Science, FOCUS St.Louis and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Inaddition, he is a steering committee member of theEisenhower Fellowships—a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization created in 1953 to honor PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower. Dr. Bonner received his Ph.D. fromColumbia University in New York. He is a Burgess Fellow,Traveling Fellow, Fulbright Scholar, President’s Fellow anda recipient of the National Research Service Award. He isthe author of numerous articles and books, includingSailing with Noah, Stories from the World of Zoos.

Great Rivers honoredDr. Bonner at a partyheld on a replica of ariverboat at the estateof David Mesker, on the Missouri River. Over 100 guestsenjoyed the fabulousviews, delicious food, cocktails, and ragtime musicperformed by Vera Parkin, a keyboardist with theSt. Louis Symphony.

The award is named after the founder of Great RiversEnvironmental Law Center, the late Lewis C. Green, aleading environmental litigator in Missouri for manydecades.

Great Rivers Environmental Law Center Held its Spring Cocktail Party at the Busch Family Mansion

In May, 2014, Great Rivers held its annual Spring Cocktail Party at the Busch Family Mansion. Over 100 peopleenjoyed the beautiful Mansion and grounds, and fine food and drinks. The Community Music School of WebsterUniversity Prep Program provided classical string musicians and people got to get up close to a Clydesdale.

Great Rivers extends its sincere appreciation to Adolphus Busch for his generosity in making this event possible.

Great Rivers Extends its Appreciation to All of Its 2014 Donors

We could not provide legal services without your help, as we are dependent on contributions from individuals andfoundations to do our work. We will list our donors for the year 2014 in the Spring 2015 newsletter so that we canthank everyone for the year at one time.

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GREAT RIVERS’ CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY AND CLEAN AIR PROGRAMS

In a 5–2 decision released February 10 by the Missouri Supreme Court, citizens won their appeal against Empire District Electric and the Public Service Commission. The Supreme Court nullified a law that Empire claimed gave them an exemption from offering solar rebates to its customers.

The legislature passed House Bill 1181 in May 2008. On the second-to-last day of the session, an amendment was added at the tail end of the bill, probably without the knowledge of almost anyone but the sponsor, which said that Empire would be exempt from any solar requirements should they exist in the future. But the subsequent ballot initiative, known as Proposition C, which passed in November 2008 with over 66 percent of the popular vote, required all publicly regulated utilities to offer solar rebates to their customers starting in January 2010.

The Court explained in its

ruling that, “the legislature could not preemptively negate the effect of the initiative before it had even been voted on by the people and make the people’s later vote a meaningless act...” The Court added that the subsequent passage of Proposition C repealed Empire’s exemption.

Plaintiffs Renew Missouri and Missouri Coalition for the Environment were represented by Henry Robertson with Great Rivers Environmental Law Center. Mr. Robertson said, “Empire tried to get out of obeying part of the law. The Supreme Court reminded it that

you can’t amend a law that hasn’t been passed yet.”

While Ameren Missouri and Kansas City Power & Light have paid out over $175 million in solar incentives in the St Louis and Kansas City areas since 2010, Empire Electric Company has yet to offer the rebates to their customers as required by law. We are now working to see that Empire implements the law as soon as possible.

On March 2, 2015, members of the Concerned Citizens Against Landvatter Ready Mix and other citizens opposed to the development of a concrete plant in Franklin County on land next to the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Shaw Nature Reserve learned that the developer had withdrawn its application to build the plant in the Franklin County Board of Zoning Adjustment. The withdrawal comes after a year-long fight citizens waged against the proposed plant—first in the Franklin County Planning and Zoning Commission, then the Franklin County Board of Zoning Adjustment, and then the Circuit Court of Franklin County.

The Concerned Citizens Against Landvatter Ready Mix, a citizens’ group made up of more than twenty households which are adjacent to the site, and Ms. Kelly Brothers, an individual who lives next to the proposed development, filed suit in the Circuit Court in August, 2014. The trial court had recently denied parts of the defendant and intervenor’s motions to dismiss, allowing the case to go forward on five counts of the amended petition. The citizens have been assisted by Great Rivers Environmental Law Center in their appeals to the Board of Zoning Adjustment and Circuit Court, and challenged the conditional use permit for several reasons.

Landvatter Ready Mix, Inc. had proposed to build a ready-mix concrete plant on tree-covered hills just 600

feet from the Nature Reserve in Franklin County. In their appeal to the Circuit Court, the citizens argued that the conditional use permit was invalid because it violates Franklin County zoning codes and Missouri state law since the proposed concrete plant endangers

public health and safety, decreases the value of adjoining property, is not in harmony with the area in which it is located, and is not in conformity with the Franklin County Master Plan.

The citizens also argued that the hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission was illegal because a Commissioner on the Board of Zoning Adjustment had appeared

before the P & Z Commission, speaking in favor of the development, while at the same time serving as real estate agent for both the buyer and seller of the property at issue.

“Missouri ethics laws don’t allow public officials to attempt to influence governmental bodies on issues on which they might gain financially outside of their official duties,” said Kathleen Henry, attorney at Great Rivers Environmental Law Center.

The citizens are pleased that the developer withdrew its application but will continue to monitor the development plans for the property.

VICTORY FOR CITIZENS OPPOSED TO CONCRETE PLANT PROPOSED NEAR SHAW NATURE RESERVE!Developer Withdraws Application Months After Citizens Filed Suit

in Circuit Court Against Franklin County Board of Zoning Adjustment

GREAT RIVERS’ LAND USE PROGRAM

“Bring Environmental Justice to North St. Louis”

GREAT RIVERS’ ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, PUBLIC HEALTH AND CLEAN AIR PROGRAMS

We expect to see more solar panels in Joplin in the coming months!

Great Rivers Prevails in Missouri Supreme Court in Case Against Empire District Electric over Solar Rebates

Great Rivers’ Suit against Missouri’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, over the Joint Committee’s Improper Rewriting of the Renewable Energy Law Moves Forward

In August of 2014 we filed suit on behalf of the Missouri Coalition for the Environment, Missouri Solar Applications, and Thomas J. Sager, in St. Louis County against the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR), the Public Service Commission, Secretary of State and Governor, alleging they all played a role in thwarting the proper implementation of the state’s Renewable Energy Standard law, passed by voters in the 2008 election as Proposition C.

Great Rivers works hard to enforce Proposition C, the renewable energy law, which requires the state’s investor-owned utilities, including Ameren Missouri, Kansas City Power & Light, and Empire District Electric Company, to ramp up their use of renewable energy to at least 15% of the power they sell to their Missouri customers by 2021. Plaintiffs contend that Missouri’s Secretary of State failed to publish key provisions of the regulation, leaving it unclear whether utilities are actually required to

build new renewable energy generation, or whether they can comply instead by buying pieces of paper called “renewable energy credits” from solar and wind projects in faraway places like California or Canada.

Plaintiffs argue that the Secretary of State should have published the full rules sent to it by the Public Service Commission, and should not have left out two key paragraphs that JCAR voted to disapprove in 2010. Furthermore, plaintiffs argue that JCAR lacked the authority to interfere with the publication of the Public Service Commission’s rules and ask the court to declare JCAR’s removal of the provisions illegal and restore the law as written and passed by Missouri voters.

We are waiting for the trial court to rule on the case, and then there will undoubtedly be an appeal.

Climate Change Program continued on page 7

Rolling Hills in Franklin County, Missouri

Clean Air Progams continued on page 8

Great Rivers is targeting two neighborhoods for clean-up: Old North and Hyde Park. St. Louis City owns Hyde Park because a Mrs. Ann Farrar sold the land to the City in 1850. Mrs. Farrar was the widow of Dr. Bernard Farrar, the first American doctor in the City of St. Louis. Dr. Farrar practiced in St. Louis from 1809-1849, when he died of cholera in the epidemic that swept the area. “History can produce few instances in which a life of such

intense devotion in relieving the diseases incident to his fellow men was less rewarded by pecuniary emolument.” History of Saint Louis City and County, Vol. II, John Scharf 1883. In North St. Louis today, there is Farrar Street, named after the doctor, and Agnes Street, named after his daughter.

Descendants of Dr. Farrar have become aware of Great

54

THANK YOU, 2014 donors. Without your help, we could not carry out our mission. We are grateful to all of you and especially our SPONSORS and CORNERSTONE SOCIETY members.

Platinum $15,000 and aboveAnonymousLeo & Kay Drey

Gold $10,000 - $14,999Hilda P. JonesYusha & Helen Sager

Ruby$2,500 - $4,999Leona Lee Bohm

Sapphire $1,000-$2,499Anonymous (2)Charles & Ellie AbeleJohn & Penelope BiggsSusan FladerWayne & Jane GoodeLouise GreenMary Green & Wallace ThoresonRoger & Nancy Hershey Bob & Nancy KlepperRichard & Laura LagesonHugh & Katherine LawMary LehmannJoe & Yvonne LoganPhoebe LoveSteve & Jeanne MaritzMatthew P. & Brigid McCauleyMark PedroliAlex & Cathy PrimmJohn & Susan RavaWalter & Marie SchmitzSarah TrulaskeJim Wilson

Emerald $500-$999Evan & Mary AppelmanAnonymousDavid & Nancy BedanLouise McKeon BeltJutta BuderDaniel & Connie BurkhardtEleanor Drey & Warren SaundersJoyce EdingerFrances V. GreenJohn F. GreenKatherine GreenJordan & Connie HeimanCynthia HobartClint HoferWard & Carol KleinKenneth & Nancy KranzbergSteve MahfoodDorothy MeyersonRichard & Rosemary RosenthalAlan & Susan ScottBen Senturia & Bronwen ZwirnerJames & Michele ShermanBob & Doris SherrickJim & Mary Michael ShrewsburyAnita Siegmund & Nancy SuelflowAlice SparksJoesphine Weil

John & Penelope Biggs Charitable Gift FundThe Milford & Lee Bohm Charitable Foundation

Frank & Betty Bush Charitable FundEarth Share of Missouri

L-A-D FoundationWayne & Jame Goode Foundation

Ledbetter Family FundChristine Gempp Love Foundation

The McKnight FoundationPedro’s Planet

Philpott Family FoundationR. V. & Beatrice M. Sager Charitable Foundation

Trio Foundation of St. Louis

Those people who have made a three year commitment at any of our Sponsorship Levels

Anonymous Alex & Cathy Primm

William & Caroline AdamsDiane AlbrightAudrey AndersonAnonymous (8)Joyce ArmstrongJill ArnoneGary AultAndrew & Paula AyersRobert & Deborah BaerGeorge & Kathleen BarbierRoger & Margaret BeamanDaniel BergMichael BobroffRobert & Sue BohmMike & Vicki BolgerDonald & Marian BrocatoKelly BrothersDonald & Sue CaldwellKenneth & Carole ChackesMaurice & Marybeth Champion-GartheWilliam ChristmanByron & Beatrice ClemensElizabeth Ann CohenRalph CohenGeorgia ColwellWinifred ColwillDon CorriganRobert CrissDick & Lynne DavisKraig & Karen DeanRobert & Genelle DeanJill deWitt & Charles WurreyKatherine DockeryBarbara EagletonCaroline EarlyCarl & Lois EklundJoyce EdingerSara EpsteinMartha FerdinandD. Frank FoxLinda FriedEugene & Nancy GabianelliJames P. & Susan Z. GambleDavid GarinDavid & Agnes GarinoFred & Carol GaskinJohn & Dora Gianoulakis

Mary GillespieRuth GilmoreJoel Goldstein & Maxine LipelesJoan GoodsonSteve & Judy GorinDennis GredellBob & Carol GroveElaine GroverFrank HackmannMark HaimEsley HamiltonAlbert & Margaret HamraDavid HarrisAnnette HellerAustin & Sara HenryDavid & Kathleen HenryMargaret HermesAlice HezelRon & Mary Ann HillKurt HoenerNellie HohnsenAlan HopeflVictoria HowardEdward & Mavis HuffGreg & Katie IffrigElizabeth IgleheartJoe JacobsonVicki JohnsonVergean JoinerGerald JoyceKaren KalishJohn KarelWilliam & Deborah KeenanWilma KennellLarry King & Jeanne KirktonNancy KistlerRea KleemanCharles & Rose KlotzerLesley KnowlesSusan LammertWilliam LandauJack & Katie LaneJoseph & Cynthia LaneLeslie LihouElizabeth LoebChristy LoveNatalie LoveCharles & Rosalyn

LowenhauptKaren LucasDebra LueckerathDaniel MandelkerScott & Annie MarshallDavid MartinJohn Martin & Kristin ZapalacJoy MartinMarsha MathewsRonald McLindenScott & Alexandra McNettThomas & Sharon McPherronGeorge McPhersonRoss MelickJane MendelsonKen & Julie MidkiffThomas & Susan MitchellBruce Morrison & Susan SpitzRobert & Mary Lou MullenJane NanceLeo & Rogene NelsenAlan NemesErin NoblePamelah OakeyFrancis & Peggy OatesMary Anne O’ConnellJanet OdmanDavid & Jitka OlanderDavid OrthweinMary OuttenJeanette Mott OxfordAlan & Sunny PervilDoug & Beverly PettinelliDavid PickerillJohn PirozziMadelon PriceCaroline PufaltRobert & Vicky ReimTom & Suzanne RhodenbaughRuth RichLynda RichardsJon Ritter & Hannah KrigmanHenry RobertsonKenneth & Anne Romig

John & Pamela RoquesEdna RosenheimPam RossSandy & Sue RothschildBill & Margaret RoweRoy SaffoldArlene SandlerJackie SchirnBeverly SchmittEdward & Mary SchroederSanford & Sally ScottRobert SearsFlorence ShinkleDaniel SingerChristine Smith & George FusonBruce SommerRebecca Stith & Gen ObataAlf StoleLee StreettEvelyn StrubingerBruce & Carol StuderMaurita StueckPatricia TepperBarbara TouchetteSteve TurleyBrian & Connie WalshBob & Pat WaterstonJan WeaverJoanne WeisMarilyn WernerGrace WestAnn WethingtonJim & Timmie WiantDavid & Karla WilsonWilliam WisbrockMichael & Patricia WolffRebecca WrightBarbara YatesJames YoungKaren Zellmer

INDIVIDUAL DONORS, JANUARY 1-DECEMBER 31, 2014 SPONSORS

FOUNDATIONS, CORPORATIONS AND DONOR ADVISED FUNDS

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR CORNERSTONE SOCIETY DONORS

IN MEMORY OF

Charles B. Belt, Jr. Louise McKeon Belt

John R. Green, II Katherine Green

James Joiner Vergean Joiner

Rolf Jost Clinton Hofer

Eugene Pieper Clinton Hofer

IN HONOR OF

Joyce Armstrong Richard & Jill Claybour

Beatrice Clemens Joe & Yvonne Logan

Kay Drey Laura Drey

Wayne Goode Margaret Sheppard

Pat McCauley Ronald & Ann Krone

Mr. & Mrs. Kevin McHugh Pat Hanlon McHugh

Ross Melick Yusha & Helen Sager

James J. Wilson David P. Weiss

54

THANK YOU, 2014 donors. Without your help, we could not carry out our mission. We are grateful to all of you and especially our SPONSORS and CORNERSTONE SOCIETY members.

Platinum $15,000 and aboveAnonymousLeo & Kay Drey

Gold $10,000 - $14,999Hilda P. JonesYusha & Helen Sager

Ruby$2,500 - $4,999Leona Lee Bohm

Sapphire $1,000-$2,499Anonymous (2)Charles & Ellie AbeleJohn & Penelope BiggsSusan FladerWayne & Jane GoodeLouise GreenMary Green & Wallace ThoresonRoger & Nancy Hershey Bob & Nancy KlepperRichard & Laura LagesonHugh & Katherine LawMary LehmannJoe & Yvonne LoganPhoebe LoveSteve & Jeanne MaritzMatthew P. & Brigid McCauleyMark PedroliAlex & Cathy PrimmJohn & Susan RavaWalter & Marie SchmitzSarah TrulaskeJim Wilson

Emerald $500-$999Evan & Mary AppelmanAnonymousDavid & Nancy BedanLouise McKeon BeltJutta BuderDaniel & Connie BurkhardtEleanor Drey & Warren SaundersJoyce EdingerFrances V. GreenJohn F. GreenKatherine GreenJordan & Connie HeimanCynthia HobartClint HoferWard & Carol KleinKenneth & Nancy KranzbergSteve MahfoodDorothy MeyersonRichard & Rosemary RosenthalAlan & Susan ScottBen Senturia & Bronwen ZwirnerJames & Michele ShermanBob & Doris SherrickJim & Mary Michael ShrewsburyAnita Siegmund & Nancy SuelflowAlice SparksJoesphine Weil

John & Penelope Biggs Charitable Gift FundThe Milford & Lee Bohm Charitable Foundation

Frank & Betty Bush Charitable FundEarth Share of Missouri

L-A-D FoundationWayne & Jame Goode Foundation

Ledbetter Family FundChristine Gempp Love Foundation

The McKnight FoundationPedro’s Planet

Philpott Family FoundationR. V. & Beatrice M. Sager Charitable Foundation

Trio Foundation of St. Louis

Those people who have made a three year commitment at any of our Sponsorship Levels

Anonymous Alex & Cathy Primm

William & Caroline AdamsDiane AlbrightAudrey AndersonAnonymous (8)Joyce ArmstrongJill ArnoneGary AultAndrew & Paula AyersRobert & Deborah BaerGeorge & Kathleen BarbierRoger & Margaret BeamanDaniel BergMichael BobroffRobert & Sue BohmMike & Vicki BolgerDonald & Marian BrocatoKelly BrothersDonald & Sue CaldwellKenneth & Carole ChackesMaurice & Marybeth Champion-GartheWilliam ChristmanByron & Beatrice ClemensElizabeth Ann CohenRalph CohenGeorgia ColwellWinifred ColwillDon CorriganRobert CrissDick & Lynne DavisKraig & Karen DeanRobert & Genelle DeanJill deWitt & Charles WurreyKatherine DockeryBarbara EagletonCaroline EarlyCarl & Lois EklundJoyce EdingerSara EpsteinMartha FerdinandD. Frank FoxLinda FriedEugene & Nancy GabianelliJames P. & Susan Z. GambleDavid GarinDavid & Agnes GarinoFred & Carol GaskinJohn & Dora Gianoulakis

Mary GillespieRuth GilmoreJoel Goldstein & Maxine LipelesJoan GoodsonSteve & Judy GorinDennis GredellBob & Carol GroveElaine GroverFrank HackmannMark HaimEsley HamiltonAlbert & Margaret HamraDavid HarrisAnnette HellerAustin & Sara HenryDavid & Kathleen HenryMargaret HermesAlice HezelRon & Mary Ann HillKurt HoenerNellie HohnsenAlan HopeflVictoria HowardEdward & Mavis HuffGreg & Katie IffrigElizabeth IgleheartJoe JacobsonVicki JohnsonVergean JoinerGerald JoyceKaren KalishJohn KarelWilliam & Deborah KeenanWilma KennellLarry King & Jeanne KirktonNancy KistlerRea KleemanCharles & Rose KlotzerLesley KnowlesSusan LammertWilliam LandauJack & Katie LaneJoseph & Cynthia LaneLeslie LihouElizabeth LoebChristy LoveNatalie LoveCharles & Rosalyn

LowenhauptKaren LucasDebra LueckerathDaniel MandelkerScott & Annie MarshallDavid MartinJohn Martin & Kristin ZapalacJoy MartinMarsha MathewsRonald McLindenScott & Alexandra McNettThomas & Sharon McPherronGeorge McPhersonRoss MelickJane MendelsonKen & Julie MidkiffThomas & Susan MitchellBruce Morrison & Susan SpitzRobert & Mary Lou MullenJane NanceLeo & Rogene NelsenAlan NemesErin NoblePamelah OakeyFrancis & Peggy OatesMary Anne O’ConnellJanet OdmanDavid & Jitka OlanderDavid OrthweinMary OuttenJeanette Mott OxfordAlan & Sunny PervilDoug & Beverly PettinelliDavid PickerillJohn PirozziMadelon PriceCaroline PufaltRobert & Vicky ReimTom & Suzanne RhodenbaughRuth RichLynda RichardsJon Ritter & Hannah KrigmanHenry RobertsonKenneth & Anne Romig

John & Pamela RoquesEdna RosenheimPam RossSandy & Sue RothschildBill & Margaret RoweRoy SaffoldArlene SandlerJackie SchirnBeverly SchmittEdward & Mary SchroederSanford & Sally ScottRobert SearsFlorence ShinkleDaniel SingerChristine Smith & George FusonBruce SommerRebecca Stith & Gen ObataAlf StoleLee StreettEvelyn StrubingerBruce & Carol StuderMaurita StueckPatricia TepperBarbara TouchetteSteve TurleyBrian & Connie WalshBob & Pat WaterstonJan WeaverJoanne WeisMarilyn WernerGrace WestAnn WethingtonJim & Timmie WiantDavid & Karla WilsonWilliam WisbrockMichael & Patricia WolffRebecca WrightBarbara YatesJames YoungKaren Zellmer

INDIVIDUAL DONORS, JANUARY 1-DECEMBER 31, 2014 SPONSORS

FOUNDATIONS, CORPORATIONS AND DONOR ADVISED FUNDS

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR CORNERSTONE SOCIETY DONORS

IN MEMORY OF

Charles B. Belt, Jr. Louise McKeon Belt

John R. Green, II Katherine Green

James Joiner Vergean Joiner

Rolf Jost Clinton Hofer

Eugene Pieper Clinton Hofer

IN HONOR OF

Joyce Armstrong Richard & Jill Claybour

Beatrice Clemens Joe & Yvonne Logan

Kay Drey Laura Drey

Wayne Goode Margaret Sheppard

Pat McCauley Ronald & Ann Krone

Mr. & Mrs. Kevin McHugh Pat Hanlon McHugh

Ross Melick Yusha & Helen Sager

James J. Wilson David P. Weiss

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GREAT RIVERS’ CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY AND CLEAN AIR PROGRAMS

In a 5–2 decision released February 10 by the Missouri Supreme Court, citizens won their appeal against Empire District Electric and the Public Service Commission. The Supreme Court nullified a law that Empire claimed gave them an exemption from offering solar rebates to its customers.

The legislature passed House Bill 1181 in May 2008. On the second-to-last day of the session, an amendment was added at the tail end of the bill, probably without the knowledge of almost anyone but the sponsor, which said that Empire would be exempt from any solar requirements should they exist in the future. But the subsequent ballot initiative, known as Proposition C, which passed in November 2008 with over 66 percent of the popular vote, required all publicly regulated utilities to offer solar rebates to their customers starting in January 2010.

The Court explained in its

ruling that, “the legislature could not preemptively negate the effect of the initiative before it had even been voted on by the people and make the people’s later vote a meaningless act...” The Court added that the subsequent passage of Proposition C repealed Empire’s exemption.

Plaintiffs Renew Missouri and Missouri Coalition for the Environment were represented by Henry Robertson with Great Rivers Environmental Law Center. Mr. Robertson said, “Empire tried to get out of obeying part of the law. The Supreme Court reminded it that

you can’t amend a law that hasn’t been passed yet.”

While Ameren Missouri and Kansas City Power & Light have paid out over $175 million in solar incentives in the St Louis and Kansas City areas since 2010, Empire Electric Company has yet to offer the rebates to their customers as required by law. We are now working to see that Empire implements the law as soon as possible.

On March 2, 2015, members of the Concerned Citizens Against Landvatter Ready Mix and other citizens opposed to the development of a concrete plant in Franklin County on land next to the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Shaw Nature Reserve learned that the developer had withdrawn its application to build the plant in the Franklin County Board of Zoning Adjustment. The withdrawal comes after a year-long fight citizens waged against the proposed plant—first in the Franklin County Planning and Zoning Commission, then the Franklin County Board of Zoning Adjustment, and then the Circuit Court of Franklin County.

The Concerned Citizens Against Landvatter Ready Mix, a citizens’ group made up of more than twenty households which are adjacent to the site, and Ms. Kelly Brothers, an individual who lives next to the proposed development, filed suit in the Circuit Court in August, 2014. The trial court had recently denied parts of the defendant and intervenor’s motions to dismiss, allowing the case to go forward on five counts of the amended petition. The citizens have been assisted by Great Rivers Environmental Law Center in their appeals to the Board of Zoning Adjustment and Circuit Court, and challenged the conditional use permit for several reasons.

Landvatter Ready Mix, Inc. had proposed to build a ready-mix concrete plant on tree-covered hills just 600

feet from the Nature Reserve in Franklin County. In their appeal to the Circuit Court, the citizens argued that the conditional use permit was invalid because it violates Franklin County zoning codes and Missouri state law since the proposed concrete plant endangers

public health and safety, decreases the value of adjoining property, is not in harmony with the area in which it is located, and is not in conformity with the Franklin County Master Plan.

The citizens also argued that the hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission was illegal because a Commissioner on the Board of Zoning Adjustment had appeared

before the P & Z Commission, speaking in favor of the development, while at the same time serving as real estate agent for both the buyer and seller of the property at issue.

“Missouri ethics laws don’t allow public officials to attempt to influence governmental bodies on issues on which they might gain financially outside of their official duties,” said Kathleen Henry, attorney at Great Rivers Environmental Law Center.

The citizens are pleased that the developer withdrew its application but will continue to monitor the development plans for the property.

VICTORY FOR CITIZENS OPPOSED TO CONCRETE PLANT PROPOSED NEAR SHAW NATURE RESERVE!Developer Withdraws Application Months After Citizens Filed Suit

in Circuit Court Against Franklin County Board of Zoning Adjustment

GREAT RIVERS’ LAND USE PROGRAM

“Bring Environmental Justice to North St. Louis”

GREAT RIVERS’ ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, PUBLIC HEALTH AND CLEAN AIR PROGRAMS

We expect to see more solar panels in Joplin in the coming months!

Great Rivers Prevails in Missouri Supreme Court in Case Against Empire District Electric over Solar Rebates

Great Rivers’ Suit against Missouri’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, over the Joint Committee’s Improper Rewriting of the Renewable Energy Law Moves Forward

In August of 2014 we filed suit on behalf of the Missouri Coalition for the Environment, Missouri Solar Applications, and Thomas J. Sager, in St. Louis County against the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR), the Public Service Commission, Secretary of State and Governor, alleging they all played a role in thwarting the proper implementation of the state’s Renewable Energy Standard law, passed by voters in the 2008 election as Proposition C.

Great Rivers works hard to enforce Proposition C, the renewable energy law, which requires the state’s investor-owned utilities, including Ameren Missouri, Kansas City Power & Light, and Empire District Electric Company, to ramp up their use of renewable energy to at least 15% of the power they sell to their Missouri customers by 2021. Plaintiffs contend that Missouri’s Secretary of State failed to publish key provisions of the regulation, leaving it unclear whether utilities are actually required to

build new renewable energy generation, or whether they can comply instead by buying pieces of paper called “renewable energy credits” from solar and wind projects in faraway places like California or Canada.

Plaintiffs argue that the Secretary of State should have published the full rules sent to it by the Public Service Commission, and should not have left out two key paragraphs that JCAR voted to disapprove in 2010. Furthermore, plaintiffs argue that JCAR lacked the authority to interfere with the publication of the Public Service Commission’s rules and ask the court to declare JCAR’s removal of the provisions illegal and restore the law as written and passed by Missouri voters.

We are waiting for the trial court to rule on the case, and then there will undoubtedly be an appeal.

Climate Change Program continued on page 7

Rolling Hills in Franklin County, Missouri

Clean Air Progams continued on page 8

Great Rivers is targeting two neighborhoods for clean-up: Old North and Hyde Park. St. Louis City owns Hyde Park because a Mrs. Ann Farrar sold the land to the City in 1850. Mrs. Farrar was the widow of Dr. Bernard Farrar, the first American doctor in the City of St. Louis. Dr. Farrar practiced in St. Louis from 1809-1849, when he died of cholera in the epidemic that swept the area. “History can produce few instances in which a life of such

intense devotion in relieving the diseases incident to his fellow men was less rewarded by pecuniary emolument.” History of Saint Louis City and County, Vol. II, John Scharf 1883. In North St. Louis today, there is Farrar Street, named after the doctor, and Agnes Street, named after his daughter.

Descendants of Dr. Farrar have become aware of Great

72

Letter fromthe President:

Your Donations Have Made A Difference!

Great Rivers has had three recent successes: the trial court victory on the Olivette Parks measure; the Missouri Supreme Court victory on the Empire District Electric Company solar rebate exemption; and the developer’s withdrawal of an application to build a concrete plant on rolling hills next to the Shaw Nature Reserve. These victories have both local and global consequences: the Olivette issue ensures that Olivette’s parks will not be sold by the City without a vote of the people; the Empire District Electric victory encourages people to install solar panels, reducing the state’s dependence on coal; and the concrete plant victory means that the Meramec River will be spared pollutants from a concrete plant.

These issues reflect trends across the country: the U.S. government proposed selling parks a few years ago to raise money for schools but abandoned that idea after receiving letters in opposition; states that pass renewable energy laws such as Florida and Arizona are fighting attacks on them; and cities allow developments on areas that are not zoned industrial when cities hear that jobs will be created even if those promises are not realistic. We are fortunate to have defeated bad proposals in these instances.

It is your donations that make these victories possible. In all three of these matters, the clients could not afford to pay private attorneys but depended on our nonprofit law firm to assist them. We are grateful to our donors and recognize them in the center of this issue.

Kathleen Henry

✍

BOARD NEWS Great Rivers Board Member Kay Drey was interviewed on KMOX radio by Kevin Killeen on April 21, 2015, calling for a “Total Removal of Nuclear Waste in Bridgeton.” Kay is calling on federal authorities to remove all radioactive waste from West Lake Landfill, which is located in the Missouri River floodplain above drinking water intakes for St. Louis City and County.

WETLAND PRESERVATION PROGRAM

“Halt the Rapid Loss of Wetlands in the Mississippi River Corridor”

Great Rivers is working to end the rapid loss of wetlands within the Mississippi River corridor. We are advocating for the Army Corps of Engineers to implement the mitigation reforms of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (“WRDA 2007”), along with the mitigation requirements of the 2008 EPA/Corps Compensatory Mitigation Rule.

We are focusing on a very destructive project the Corps has planned: the New Madrid floodway project. In this project, the Corps will close the last remaining connection the Mississippi River has to its floodplain in the state of Missouri. This is a $165 million taxpayer boondoggle, and will increase the potential for flooding in a dozen communities and harm fish and wildlife through the central portion of the Mississippi River. Great Rivers continues

its advocacy while waiting for the Corps to issue a final environmental impact statement.

Corps Routinely Violates Freedom of Information ActWe are concluding efforts in a lawsuit against the Corps’ St. Louis District for its failure to release documents in permit files for permits that have yet to be issued. The position taken by the Corps severely limits Great Rivers’ ability to take action on proposed permits and hinders the ultimate goal of the work to minimize the loss of wetlands in the area. We have brought three lawsuits in two years against the Corps over its failure to release documents, and have settled all three after the Corps released the documents. It should not take a lawsuit for the Corps to release documents that are clearly supposed to be public.

CLIMATE CHANGE PROGRAM continued from page 3

Great Rivers Presses Utilities to Use Less CoalWork Against Ameren Missouri

Great Rivers represents the Natural Resources Defense Council (“NRDC”) and the Sierra Club (“SC”) as local counsel in proceedings in the Public Service Commission concerning Ameren Missouri. Ameren filed a rate case in July, 2014 and a long-range plan (IRP) in October, 2014, and has filed a second energy efficiency (EE) plan for the three-year cycle 2016–18 later this year. Great Rivers will be contributing a major amount of work directed to retiring coal plants, resisting new nuclear capacity, and strengthening renewable energy and efficiency by Ameren.

Our clients object to Ameren’s new EE plan because it would save only half as much energy as the first plan Ameren made, but cost almost as much. They object to Ameren’s IRP because it fails to account for the EPA’s Clean Power Plan to reduce CO2 emissions from existing power plants; indeed, Ameren has no attention of abiding by it but is trying to get EPA to delay and weaken it. In the rate case, the SC is challenging the prudence of spending money on environmental upgrades to Ameren’s 45-year old coal-fired Labadie plant, instead of investing in clean energy.

Work Against Kansas City Power & Light

Kansas City Power and Light (“KCP&L”) filed a rate case in late 2014 seeking compensation for over a billion dollars in environmental upgrades to an aging coal-fired power plant. KCP&L’s efficiency programs are underperforming compared to Ameren’s. Great Rivers represents the Sierra Club along with Earthjustice, and is challenging $1.3 billion in upgrades to the 40-year-old LaCygne power plant in Kansas. On behalf of SC, NRDC and the National Housing Trust, we are also challenging KCPL’s attempt to increase the residential customer charge from $9 to $25, as this would discourage customers from conserving energy. This is a fixed charge that all customers

pay regardless of how much energy they use. Increasing it will penalize people who use little electricity and act as a disincentive to adopt efficiency measures.

Early in April KCPL filed its Integrated Resource Plan, a long-range plan filed every three years. KCPL has recently given encouraging signs by announcing the retirement of a number of coal-burning generators and increasing their investment in wind. However, their efficiency programs have underperformed Ameren’s and they still intend to retrofit aging power plants that should be retired instead. We will be raising these issues with our clients.

BOARD NEWS

Great RiversEnvironmental Law Center

Lawyers for the Environment(a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit corporation)

Mission StatementWe provide free and reduced-fee legal services tocitizens’ groups, organizations and individuals who

seek to protect and preserve the environment.

Founding PresidentLewis C. Green(1924 - 2003)

Board of DirectorsRichard D. Lageson, Chairman

Joyce ArmstrongDavid R. Bohm

Beatrice ClemensKay Drey

Wayne GoodeLouise Green

Roger HersheyRon Kucera

Matthew P. McCauleyKen Midkiff

Cathy PrimmJohn A. Rava Thomas SagerBen Senturia

James ShrewsburyJames J. Wilson

StaffKathleen Green Henry, President

Dianne Klein, Office ManagerBob Menees, Staff Attorney

Bruce A. Morrison, General CounselJim Pudlowski, Director of Development

Henry B. Robertson, Staff Attorney

2

Charles R. AbeleTimothy V. BarnhartDavid R. BohmRichard L. ConstanceMaurice B. GrahamElkin L. KistnerHugh R. Law

Office Address319 North Fourth Street, Suite 800

St. Louis, MO 63102(314) 231-4181

(314) 231-4184 (facsimile)e-mail: khenry@greatriverslaw.orgWebsite: www.greatriverslaw.org

Francis OatesStephen ReynoldsJohn G. RoachSharon TurlingtonDeborah WaferPatricia L. WendlingDoug Williams

Letter fromthe President:

The Sixth Mass Extinction PresentsEnormous Challenges

In May 2014, the journal Science published a studyshowing that human activity has driven current ratesof species extinction to 1,000 times faster than thenatural rate. The study, led by conservation expertStuart Pimm, also warns that without drastic action,the sixth mass extinction could be imminent. Fromhabitat loss to invasive species to climate change tooverfishing, humans are contributing to the plummetin biodiversity.

Elizabeth Kolbert’s book, “The Sixth Extinction: AnUnnatural History,” also published this year, makesclear that if we continue with business as usual,human beings will become an endangered speciesand eventually extinct. Kolbert points out that theconcentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere isthe highest it has been in at least 800,000 years andthe rate of warming is ten times faster than inprevious interglacial periods, meaning far too fast fora great many species to migrate or adapt. There isalso explosive human population growth and man’stransformation of more than half the planet’shabitable landscape, destroying and fragmentinghabitats, all leading to the extinction of more speciesin a shorter period of time than ever before.

Great Rivers works to ensure that future generationshave a healthy and ecologically diverse environmentin which to live. It is outrageous that our state stillrelies on the burning of coal for 80% of its energy.Solar, wind and energy efficiency technologies arebeing used to a much greater extent by other states.Ameren Missouri, Empire District Electric Company,Kansas City Power and Light, the Public ServiceCommission, and elected officials all must do theirpart to help save our species— the fight has comecloser to home and humankind is at risk.

We thank our donors who understand this and makeour work possible.

Kathleen Henry

Board NewsWe wish Board Member Beatrice Clemens aspeedy recovery from her chemotherapy andradiation treatments.

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7

Advisory Law Committee

Great Rivers Environmental Law Center Presented Lewis C. Green Environmental Service Awardsto Dr. Jeffrey Bonner, CEO of the St. Louis Zoo

On October 5, 2014, Great RiversEnvironmental Law Center presentedits Lewis C. Green EnvironmentalService Award to Jeffrey Bonner, Ph.D., Dana Brown President and CEOof the St. Louis Zoo, at its 9thAnnual Awards Party. Great Riverspresents this award annually toindividuals or programs that haveshown long-time commitment to thepreservation of the environment.

In April 2002 Dr. Bonner wasappointed President & CEO of theSaint Louis Zoo. In 2009 his position

was endowed by the Dana Brown Charitable Trust. UnderDr. Bonner’s leadership, the St. Louis Zoo has developed a new conservation education program and focused its fieldconservation initiatives under a single WildCare Institute—aforce for saving animals across the globe. In Missouri, theInstitute has reintroduced endangered Ozark Hellbendersand American burying beetles and begun working to savepollinators and river turtles.

Dr. Bonner has chaired the Association of Zoos andAquariums, the Amphibian Ark, the International SpeciesInformation System and the Madagascar Fauna and FloraGroup. He has served on the board of the WorldAssociation of Zoos and Aquariums and currently serveson several boards, including the Conservation BreedingSpecialist Group, BioSTL, Higher Education Channel TV,Forest Park Forever and St. Louis Regional Chamber ofGrowth Association (RCGA). He is a member of TheExplorers Club, the Academy of Science, FOCUS St.Louis and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Inaddition, he is a steering committee member of theEisenhower Fellowships—a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization created in 1953 to honor PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower. Dr. Bonner received his Ph.D. fromColumbia University in New York. He is a Burgess Fellow,Traveling Fellow, Fulbright Scholar, President’s Fellow anda recipient of the National Research Service Award. He isthe author of numerous articles and books, includingSailing with Noah, Stories from the World of Zoos.

Great Rivers honoredDr. Bonner at a partyheld on a replica of ariverboat at the estateof David Mesker, on the Missouri River. Over 100 guestsenjoyed the fabulousviews, delicious food, cocktails, and ragtime musicperformed by Vera Parkin, a keyboardist with theSt. Louis Symphony.

The award is named after the founder of Great RiversEnvironmental Law Center, the late Lewis C. Green, aleading environmental litigator in Missouri for manydecades.

Great Rivers Environmental Law Center Held its Spring Cocktail Party at the Busch Family Mansion

In May, 2014, Great Rivers held its annual Spring Cocktail Party at the Busch Family Mansion. Over 100 peopleenjoyed the beautiful Mansion and grounds, and fine food and drinks. The Community Music School of WebsterUniversity Prep Program provided classical string musicians and people got to get up close to a Clydesdale.

Great Rivers extends its sincere appreciation to Adolphus Busch for his generosity in making this event possible.

Great Rivers Extends its Appreciation to All of Its 2014 Donors

We could not provide legal services without your help, as we are dependent on contributions from individuals andfoundations to do our work. We will list our donors for the year 2014 in the Spring 2015 newsletter so that we canthank everyone for the year at one time.

Spring 2015

GREATRIVERS

Great Rivers Environmental Law Center319 North Fourth Street • Suite 800 • St. Louis, MO 63102 • (314) 231-4181 • www.greatriverslaw.org

NonprofitOrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDSt. Louis, MO

Permit No. 0257

Environmental Law CenterLawyers for the Environment

319 North Fourth StreetSuite 800St. Louis, MO 63102

(314) 231-4181 phone(314) 231-4184 faxwww.greatriverslaw.org

GREATRIVERS

REPORTERRETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Great Rivers’ ClimateChange Program Victory:

Customers In Joplin, Missouri And Surrounding Communities Now Have Incentives To Install Solar Panels,

Reducing Reliance On Coal-Fired Power Plants.

Photo by Michael Coghlan

Great Rivers Prevails in Case Against Empire District Electric Company

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE PROGRAM S continued from page 6

Rivers’ work investigating polluting plants located in the Old North and Hyde Park neighborhoods, and interested in helping clean up the area. It seems that governmental agencies have not added up the total pollutants emitted into the neighborhoods in which people still live today as they have for centuries. Great Rivers is advocating governmental agencies to help clean up the area.

Fighting an Asphalt Plant in Grandview, Missouri

The City of Grandview, Missouri, contacted Great Rivers about a hot mix asphalt plant recently constructed in Kansas City, Missouri, just across the boundary line the City of Grandview shares with the City of Kansas City. The Grandview School District and many residents in close proximity to the asphalt plant are concerned about the short and long-term environmental, health,

and land use development impacts arising from the plant’s operations. Representatives of these groups are interested in challenging the construction permit issued by the City of Kansas City.

In 2013, Great Rivers filed suit on behalf of a citizens group, Concerned Citizens for Air, Inc., and the City of Grandview against the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The Circuit Judge issued a temporary restraining order on October 15, 2013, restraining the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) from issuing a permit for a permanent asphalt plant at the current location (the facility currently is operating under a temporary permit). The case has been complicated and up and down in several courts, including the Missouri Supreme Court, but is again before the trial court.