Asphalt plant wins court dispute against environmentalists and city of Grandview

Long-running litigation between Ideker Inc. and an environmental group and Grandview officials may have reached its conclusion, with a Missouri court’s blessing that it can continue operating.

The Missouri Court of Appeals on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit, filed in 2013, that sought to keep Ideker from obtaining a permit to run an asphalt plant in Kansas City, due to concerns about air pollution.

Concerned Citizens for AIR Inc. and Grandview wanted a Jackson County court to decide whether the Missouri Department of Natural Resources had improperly approved an air-emissions permit for Ideker’s asphalt plant, near Missouri Highway 150 and Interstate 49.

Concerned Citizens, a nonprofit, expressed concerns about air quality in general; Grandview, more specifically, had issues about potential impact from chemical and dust emissions reaching nearby elementary schools in that city.

For a while, their lawsuit showed promise. A Jackson County judge approved a temporary restraining order against a temporary permit to Ideker from the DNR, a decision that the Missouri Supreme Court later upheld.

But Ideker received a permanent permit early in 2014 and moved to get the lawsuit against it and the DNR dismissed so that it could continue operating. Ideker and the DNR argued that Grandview hadn’t taken the necessary steps to block the permit through the DNR before heading off to court. While a Jackson County judge didn’t find that argument persuasive, a panel of appellate judges did. 

The decision on Tuesday ordered the lower court to dismiss the lawsuit against Ideker and the DNR, effectively allowing the asphalt plant to keep its permit and stick to business as usual.

Bruce Morrison, an environmental attorney from St. Louis representing Concerned Citizens and Grandview, told The Pitch that he and his clients are still reviewing their legal options before deciding on how to proceed.