Taum Sauk settlement appears near
AmerenUE hires contractors, project manager to rebuild reservoir
By PAULA BARR
Daily Journal Staff Writer
Daily Journal Staff Writer
Friday, November 09, 2007
AmerenUE has hired contractors and a project manager to rebuild the upper reservoir for its Taum Sauk pumped storage hydroelectric plant in Reynolds County.
The work is contingent upon a successful resolution to a civil suit filed by the state against Ameren in 2006. Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR), state leaders and Ameren officials have been working on settlement proposals for more than a year. A settlement would end the civil suit and pave the way for Ameren to begin construction on the new reservoir.
The utility company hired Ozark Constructors, LLC, to build a rolled concrete dam to replace the rock and earth reservoir that failed in December 2005. A breach in that dam released approximately 1.4 billion gallons of water down Proffit Mountain into Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park.
Plans call for the new reservoir to be built on the footprint of the previous one. The plans already have been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
The amount of water the reservoir would hold has not been determined, according to Ameren spokesman Tim Fox.
AmerenUE also hired Paul Rizzo Associates, Inc. as engineer of record and project manager.
“We are confident that the combination of ASI’s dam construction experience with Fred Weber, Inc.’s expertise, union craft depth and essential St. Louis infrastructure presence, will be an outstanding project team to successfully reconstruct the Taum Sauk upper reservoir,” said Thomas R. Voss, AmerenUE president and chief executive officer. “After much analysis, we are now confident that this plant can be returned to service and operated safely to restore a critical source of reliable power to our customers.”
Ameren has been doing stabilization work and site preparation, including demolition of remaining reservoir in March.
“There is still more work to be done and there are still the outstanding issues with the state,” Fox said. “But our objective is to have the reservoir up and operating toward the end of 2009. To stick to that schedule, things need to be resolved sooner rather than later.”
State Sen. Kevin Engler, R-Farmington and State Rep. J.C. Kuessner, D-Eminence, who represent Reynolds County, have been vocal about the need to put aside politics and settle the issue.
“I think we’re getting closer,” Engler said Thursday after speaking to the president of Ameren. “I’m cautiously optimistic. They say they’re close, but they’ve been saying that for two months now.”
Fox said he could not comment on when a settlement might be announced, nor could he discuss specific items being discussed as part of the settlement.
Engler believes any settlement would include a stipulation that Ameren extend its initial commitment to pay full taxes through the end of this year. Without a working facility or an extended commitment, Ameren’s taxes would drop substantially. That would have a grave impact on the school district, which relies on those taxes for the majority of its funding. The lower taxes also would hurt the county, Reynolds County officials have said several times over the past two years.
“I think Ameren’s plan is to meet their obligation for taxes,” Engler said. “All negotiations include that in the settlement.”
Fox said that as of Thursday afternoon, the company had not amended its initial agreement, which was to pay the full taxes only through Dec. 31.
Built in 1963, AmerenUE’s Taum Sauk Plant stored water from the Black River in the upper reservoir and released the water to generate electricity when power was needed.
The dam failed early on the morning of Dec. 14, 2005. Water overtopped the dam and eroded part of a wall, releasing the water inside the reservoir and leaving behind a 600-foot wide, 100 foot deep opening. It destroyed a campground and swept away the park ranger’s family and home near the entrance to the state park. The ranger, his wife and three children were rescued and the children were briefly hospitalized.
The flood ripped up soil to a depth of 5 feet along its path and it changed the course of the east fork of the Black River through the park. The water pulverized the soil into silt and carried it down the mountain where it contaminated the Lower Taum Sauk Reservoir and east fork of the Black River.
Several investigations in the following months led to the conclusion that the dam failure was the result of “improperly installed and maintained water level monitors.” In October, FERC fined Ameren $15 million and stipulated that $5 million of that must go toward improvements at or near the Taum Sauk facility. The money could not be used to repair or restore areas damaged by the flood.
The fine settled all federal claims against the company for the Taum Sauk disaster. In December 2006, Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon filed a civil lawsuit against the company, one day after the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced it had made a $125 million settlement proposal to Ameren.
In February, Ameren announced its intention to rebuild the upper reservoir. The company submitted plans and an environmental report to FERC for the rebuilding, pending a successful settlement resolution. In August, FERC granted its approval of the roller compacted concrete design by Paul Rizzo Associates, Inc.
AmerenUE has stressed that the reservoir would be rebuilt following criteria used in current dam design and construction practice, Voss said. He also said that insurance is expected to cover a substantial amount of the costs of the rebuilding.
Paula Barr is a reporter for the Daily Journal and can be reached at 573-431-2010, ext. 172 or at pbarr@dailyjournalonline.com.
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