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(AP) -- UNION, Mo. (AP) -- A judge has ruled in favor of an effort to develop a new coal ash landfill in eastern Missouri's Franklin County.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/11n1E0P ) reports that the judge on Friday rejected claims that the Franklin County Commission acted unlawfully in approving a zoning amendment for the landfill.

Ameren Missouri wants to add to the coal ash landfill next to its Labadie power plant. The Labadie Environmental Organization opposes the landfill because of its proximity to the Missouri River floodplain and filed suit a little over a year ago to overturn the commission's decision.

Some of the plaintiffs in the case say they plan to appeal.

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