Residents Press Lincoln County Commission for Action as Mill Creek Questions Mount
TROY, Mo. — Lincoln County residents pushed commissioners Tuesday to take a more proactive role as questions surrounding Ameren’s proposed Mill Creek Energy Center continue to grow, calling for another public meeting and asking county leaders to consider planning and zoning — even temporarily — as a safeguard against future large-scale development.
The Sept. 15 Lincoln County Commission meeting kicked off at 9 a.m. with all three commissioners present: Presiding Commissioner Joe Kaimann, Commissioner Mike Mueller and Commissioner Matt Bass.
Much of the morning’s most extensive discussion came during a scheduled appearance by the Aligned Mommas Group, joined by several other residents. Nikki Trout, Samantha Capstick and Mary Geeding were among those who questioned commissioners about Mill Creek, emergency preparedness, private wells, roads, possible future development and what authority the county still has to act.
The central message from residents was less about stopping one project Tuesday and more about what Lincoln County does before the next one arrives.
Several residents, including members of the Aligned Mommas Group, later spoke directly with Lincoln CountyWatch and described what they see as a lack of proactive action by county government. They pointed to large developments and the controversies surrounding them in nearby counties and elsewhere across the country as reasons they want Lincoln County to establish protections now rather than react later.
Planning and zoning became one of the clearest requests.
Residents urged commissioners to explore a temporary planning commission, a temporary moratorium on additional projects or eventually putting permanent planning and zoning back before voters.
They argued those protections would not necessarily have to amount to traditional countywide zoning. Instead, regulations could potentially focus on major industrial and commercial projects meeting certain thresholds for acreage or investment.
Planning and zoning has been rejected by Lincoln County voters in the past, a point acknowledged during Tuesday’s discussion. Residents argued circumstances have changed as larger projects begin looking toward the county.
“We just need to see some good faith effort,” Trout told commissioners.
Trout also pressed for an evening public meeting that would bring Ameren, county leaders, emergency services and residents into the same room.
The request gained traction before the discussion ended. Commissioners agreed another public meeting was a good idea and discussed posting one within approximately 10 days, potentially at a larger venue. Residents asked that Ameren, emergency services, the health department, road officials and other stakeholders be invited.
While residents pushed commissioners for broader action, Lincoln County Emergency Management Director Quentin Laws provided some of the clearest detail Tuesday about what is already happening behind the scenes.
Laws outlined a series of safety and financial protections Emergency Management is seeking as local first responders prepare to meet with Ameren.
Those requests include a final site-specific hazard mitigation and emergency-response plan; a plan for contaminated fire water and runoff; air-monitoring and protective-action capabilities; a site-specific firefighting and water-supply strategy; responder training and exercises; and an assessment of equipment and other capabilities local agencies would need to respond to an incident at the facility.
The county is also seeking provisions addressing who pays for project-specific equipment and extraordinary response or cleanup expenses rather than leaving those costs with local agencies and taxpayers.
Potential needs discussed included toxic-gas monitoring, thermal imaging, protective equipment, communications and hazardous-material resources. Extraordinary expenses could include mutual aid, environmental sampling, contaminated-water removal, specialized contractors, equipment replacement and cleanup.
Laws said the Sept. 22 meeting with Ameren is expected to bring fire chiefs, EMS, 911 and other emergency-service representatives together with the company for their first direct discussion of those concerns
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Capstick focused on whether those protections would ultimately be enforceable, questioning what would be required in writing rather than left as assurances from Ameren.
The discussion also exposed the limits of what county government itself could handle following a major incident. Laws explained that a significant contamination event would ultimately involve state or federal environmental agencies; Lincoln County does not maintain the resources to independently manage a full contaminated site.
Geeding, meanwhile, pushed the discussion toward water and financial decisions that could eventually come before commissioners.
Residents questioned protections for private wells and whether baseline testing could help establish existing groundwater conditions before future large developments are built. Questions also turned to Chapter 100 incentives and whether commissioners could eventually be asked to provide tax incentives for Mill Creek or related development.
Commissioners said no Chapter 100 request had been made or discussed for Mill Creek.
They also rejected the suggestion that Lincoln County’s developing water system is being built specifically to accommodate data centers, describing it instead as infrastructure intended to provide drinking water to county residents and accommodate normal growth.
Throughout the discussion, commissioners repeatedly noted an important limitation: Lincoln County does not make the ultimate decision on Ameren’s Mill Creek application.
Residents did not dispute that point. Their argument Tuesday was that the absence of final authority over Mill Creek does not prevent county government from preparing for the next major project, protecting county roads, strengthening emergency-response requirements or reconsidering how large developments are reviewed.
That is also where the conversation is beginning to extend beyond the commission room.
Members of the Aligned Mommas Group and other residents told Lincoln CountyWatch their concerns are broader than Mill Creek alone. They want county leaders to examine what has happened as large projects have moved into surrounding areas and elsewhere in the country and decide what protections Lincoln County wants before the next proposal is on the table.
For now, that push has produced at least one concrete next step: commissioners agreed another public meeting should be held.
Emergency services also have their own next step, with Laws and local first responders preparing for the Sept. 22 discussion with Ameren.
And the debate over planning and zoning — an issue Lincoln County voters have rejected before — is again part of the public conversation.
Lincoln CountyWatch has discussed sitting down with members of the Aligned Mommas Group for an in-depth interview about what they have uncovered, why they believe Lincoln County needs to act now and exactly what they want county leaders to consider.
That interview is coming soon to Lincoln CountyWatch.
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