Ameren Missouri owns and operates the Southwest SO2 monitoring site near its Labadie Energy Center, but the Missouri Department of Natural Resources provides quality assurance. Environmental specialists with the department conduct periodic on-site performance audits, just as they do at state-operated sites that monitor SO2. Ameren is operating the Southwest site and other sites under a quality assurance project plan (QAPP) approved by the department.

Working with the department, Ameren Missouri established the site in January 2017. It joined three other sites established in the vicinity of Ameren Missouri because of EPA's Data Requirements Rule (DRR). It gave the state two choices for characterizing air quality in areas with large sources of SO2 emissions: modeling or ambient air monitoring. In consultation with Ameren, the department chose air monitoring. The rule covers the third and fourth steps toward implementation of the 2010 SO2 standard of 75 parts per billion. Industry and department personnel used EPA guidelines to pick the monitoring sites; for example, they had to verify that the monitors are appropriate distances from trees, buildings and minor sources of SO2.

Data from monitors and audits will be part of EPA's Air Quality System. The federal agency will use the data collected over an initial three-year period to determine compliance with the one-hour SO2 standard.
 

Pollutants

Sulfur Dioxide

EPA not only established a new one-hour standard in 2010, but it also introduced a new form for determining compliance. The new form requires three years of data — the average SO2 concentration from each hour of the year. The department and EPA calculate the design value, using the 99th percentile of one-hour daily maximum concentrations, averaged over three years.

Departmental information about sulfur dioxide (SO2)

  • Description
  • 2010 standard and related documents
Labadie Southwest Air Monitoring Site
Address

870 Albertina Lane
Labadie, MO 63055
United States

EPA Site ID
29-071-9002
County
Franklin
Date Established
Pollutants Monitored
Sulfur Dioxide
Latitude/Longitude
38.52814, -90.796911