Judge OKs settlement after reservoir collapse
(01/10/08)
ST. LOUIS -- A judge in Reynolds County has approved a settlement in which Ameren Corp. agreed to pay $180 million in cash and property for the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse of 2005. The settlement to compensate the state was reached in November, but Circuit Judge William Seay signed off on the agreement Wednesday in a Centerville courtroom, much to the relief of rural residents who count on Ameren's tax dollars...
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Reservoir failure
Ameren rebuilding Taum Sauk reservoir now that legal woes are over
(12/14/07)LESTERVILLE, Mo. -- Two years after it collapsed, the Taum Sauk reservoir is a busy pit of construction vehicles, work crews and cement plants. St. Louis-based Ameren Corp. is rebuilding the facility now that it has paid nearly $180 million to settle all state claims over the collapse, which happened in the pre-dawn hours of Dec. 14, 2005. For residents of surrounding rural Reynolds County, the reservoir's rebirth means the promise of steady tax payments for decades to come...
Lawsuit seeks to block work on new Taum Sauk reservoir
(12/12/07) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A group representing state parks supporters sued Tuesday to stop the reconstruction of the Taum Sauk reservoir, two years after its collapse devastated a popular park. The lawsuit by the Missouri Parks Association claims the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission failed to adequately study the environmental effect of reopening the hydroelectric plant or alternatives to rebuilding it...
Blunt: Some Taum Sauk settlement will go toward new state park
(12/04/07) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Matt Blunt said Monday he has instructed the Department of Natural Resources to use some of the Taum Sauk settlement money to develop a new state park in Shannon County. "This will help compensate the citizens of Missouri for the loss of natural resources when the reservoir breach flooded Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park," he said in a statement...
Ameren announces $180M settlement in Taum Sauk case
(11/29/07) ST. LOUIS -- Ameren Corp. announced Wednesday that it had reached an agreement that will require the utility to pay $180 million in cash and property to compensate for damage resulting from the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse. The settlement ends months of negotiations between the St. Louis-based company and three state agencies. The agreement will end a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Jay Nixon and settle all other state demands for compensation...
Ameren selects company to rebuild reservoir
(11/08/07) ST. LOUIS -- Ameren Corp. has selected a contractor to rebuild its Taum Sauk reservoir in Southeast Missouri, but said construction can't begin until the utility reaches a settlement with state agencies over the reservoir's collapse in 2005. Ameren announced Wednesday it hired Ozark Constructors to rebuild the mountaintop reservoir, which held more than one billion gallons of water to power a hydroelectric plant in a valley below it. ...
Environmentalists target Taum Sauk rebuilding plan
(11/03/07) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The proposed restoration of the Taum Sauk reservoir after its December 2005 collapse could be delayed over environmental concerns and a likely lawsuit against the project. Federal regulators in August gave Ameren Corp. the necessary approval to begin rebuilding the mountaintop reservoir in Southeast Missouri. ...
Ameren gets OK to rebuild reservoir
(08/16/07) ST. LOUIS -- Federal regulators Wednesday cleared Ameren Corp. to begin rebuilding its Taum Sauk mountaintop reservoir, which collapsed in 2005, sending a torrent of water into a state park in southeast Missouri. Ameren was notified that it could move forward in a letter from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. But FERC, which regulates the reservoir, is requiring Ameren to undertake various measures to minimize the impact of construction on park users and the environment...
Supervisor: Safety gauges not checked before Taum Sauk reservoir collapse
(08/15/07) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- After water washed over the top of the Taum Sauk hydroelectric plant reservoir in September 2005, plant supervisors determined the water level gauges weren't accurate and attempted to correct them. But a former Taum Sauk supervisor testified Tuesday that he never checked out the reservoir's separate emergency water sensors. ...
Johnson's Shut-Ins open until Labor Day
(08/13/07) LESTERVILLE, Mo. -- Visitors to Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park can enjoy Missouri's favorite swimming hole through Labor Day. But certain areas of the eastern Missouri park devastated by a reservoir breach nearly two years ago remain off-limits. The campgrounds and hiking trails have not been rebuilt since the catastrophic breach of the upper Taum Sauk reservoir in December 2005, which sent 1.3 million gallons of water roaring into the park...
DNR chief says he met with feds over Taum Sauk
(08/04/07) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The head of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources confirmed Friday that he has met with federal prosecutors and the Environmental Protection Agency, who asked him to provide information for a criminal investigation into the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse...
Manager says he felt pressure to boost reservoir's productivity
(08/03/07) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A former manager of the Taum Sauk hydroelectric plant told the Missouri Public Service Commission on Thursday that Ameren Corp.'s energy trading unit asked him in 2000 to run the reservoir outside of what he considered safe operating limits, soon after industry deregulation allowed the company to sell more power on the open market...
Engineer acknowledges removing probes after reservoir collapse
(08/02/07) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- An Ameren Corp. engineer said Wednesday a manager told him to remove critical safety probes from their casing at the Taum Sauk reservoir and test them just hours after the structure collapsed. "We wanted to find out what happened -- why the thing didn't work," Tom Pierie said during sworn testimony at a Public Service Commission inquiry into one of the worst man-made disasters in Missouri history...
Engineer: Ameren repeatedly denied repair request
(07/26/07) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- An Ameren Corp. engineer testified Wednesday that he tried day after day to get approval to fix water level sensors at the Taum Sauk reservoir but was repeatedly denied by the company several weeks before the reservoir failed...
Groups criticize plan to rebuild Taum Sauk
(07/11/07) ST. LOUIS -- Environmental regulators and activists criticized parts of Ameren Corp.'s plan to rebuild the Taum Sauk reservoir in public comments submitted to federal regulators this week. The comments were filed Monday and Tuesday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is deciding whether to let Ameren rebuild the mountaintop reservoir in Southeast Missouri...
EPA criminal unit looking into reservoir collapse
(07/03/07) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Criminal investigators at the Environmental Protection Agency are looking into a 2005 reservoir collapse that caused more than 1 billion gallons of water to roar down a mountain into a popular recreational stream. The collapse of Ameren Corp.'s Taum Sauk reservoir in Southeast Missouri washed large amounts of mud, rocks and debris into the Black River and significantly damaged Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, which reopened Monday for a limited two-month period while the cleanup continues.. ...
Taum Sauk settlement talks will continue amid new investigation
(06/13/07) ST. LOUIS -- Ameren Corp. and state officials will continue settlement talks over the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse, even as utility regulators launch a new investigation into the disaster. Three state agencies are close to offering Ameren a unified settlement deal that will outline how the utility can pay for damages associated with the collapse, said Missouri Department of Natural Resources deputy director Kurt Schaefer... 
Lesterville school's future hinges on Ameren plant
(06/02/07)The future of Lesterville, Mo., is contingent on AmerenUE's hydroelectric plant. Ameren Corporation officials announced plans to rebuild the upper reservoir of its Taum Sauk Plant near Lesterville in early February but the utility company is awaiting a unified settlement proposal from the state of Missouri...
Judge: DNR can't intervene in Taum Sauk lawsuit
(05/23/07) ST. LOUIS -- The Department of Natural Resources will not be allowed to intervene in a lawsuit filed over the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse filed by Missouri's attorney general, a Reynolds County judge said Tuesday. Attorney General Jay Nixon sued Ameren Corp. in December for damages from the 2005 collapse of the Taum Sauk reservoir, which destroyed much of Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park...
Nixon: No charges in Taum Sauk case
(05/19/07) ST. LOUIS -- Attorney General Jay Nixon announced Friday he will not pursue criminal charges against Ameren Corp. over the December 2005 collapse of the Taum Sauk reservoir, which destroyed much of Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park in Reynolds County. Nixon said he made the decision after reviewing the investigative report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol and discussing the matter with Gov. Matt Blunt on Friday...
DNR, Nixon may work together
(05/08/07) ST. LOUIS -- Officials with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources may be willing to put aside differences with Attorney General Jay Nixon and work with him toward a settlement with Ameren Corp. over the Taum Sauk disaster, DNR director Doyle Childers said Monday. Also Monday, Nixon sent a letter to an Ameren attorney outlining the "essential elements" necessary to settle a civil case over the December 2005 breach at Taum Sauk...
Ameren: Tired of playing 'political football' over Taum Sauk breach
(05/03/07) ST. LOUIS -- An Ameren Corp. vice president Wednesday accused the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the state Attorney General's office of playing "political football" while cleanup from the Taum Sauk reservoir breach languishes nearly 17 months after the accident...
Johnson's Shut-Ins will not be open this summer
(04/25/07) ST. LOUIS -- The Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park will not be open this summer because of damage from the Taum Sauk Reservoir collapse, a move that could hurt a region economically dependent on tourists drawn to the popular park. Johnson's Shut-Ins was devastated in December 2005 when Ameren Corp.'s reservoir failed and sent one billion gallons of water rushing through the area, injuring a family of five and burying much of the park under five feet of soil...
Missouri official: Nixon should drop suit over Taum Sauk collapse
(02/28/07) ST. LOUIS -- Gov. Matt Blunt's administration called on Attorney General Jay Nixon Tuesday to drop a lawsuit against Ameren Corp. over the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse. Missouri Department of Natural Resources director Doyle Childers made the request in a letter he sent to Nixon's office. Childers outlined five conditions Nixon should meet to help move settlement talks forward so Ameren can pay the state for damage from the reservoir breach... 
Blunt aide claims Nixon's office asked Ameren for contributions
(02/08/07)ST. LOUIS -- Gov. Matt Blunt's chief of staff on Wednesday accused Attorney General Jay Nixon's campaign of soliciting contributions from Ameren Corp. after Nixon launched a criminal investigation of the company over the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse...
Ameren files to rebuild Taum Sauk reservoir
(02/06/07) ST. LOUIS -- Ameren Corp. told federal regulators it wants to rebuild the Taum Sauk reservoir, but the company first must settle legal troubles from state agencies resulting from the reservoir's collapse. The utility filed plans Monday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to start construction on the reservoir this year. The mountaintop basin, which powers a hydroelectric plant, should be up and running by 2009, according to the plan...
DNR wants to enter lawsuit against Ameren
(01/18/07) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources asked a court Wednesday to let it join the state attorney general's lawsuit against Ameren Corp. over the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse, which heavily damaged a state park and injured a family of five in 2005...
Report says rebuilding reservoir a viable option
(01/11/07) ST. LOUIS -- AmerenUE's Taum Sauk reservoir can be repaired safely and doesn't need to be rebuilt, according to a report from engineers representing the utility's insurers. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch said the report by the Denver-based engineering firm URS Corp. and Houston-based Rimkus Consulting Group was filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in November and made public Monday...
DNR proposes settlement over reservoir collapse
(12/13/06) ST. LOUIS -- Nearly a year after Ameren Corp.'s Taum Sauk reservoir burst, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has offered a settlement proposal to the St. Louis-based utility company, DNR officials said Tuesday. As part of the proposal, Ameren would either give to the state or allow the state to use a mountain it owns near the site of the reservoir collapse and a stretch of railroad right of way the company owns in western Missouri...
Shut-Ins recovery stalled by legal dispute; DNR chief questions if park will reopen in 2007
(11/15/06) LESTERVILLE, Mo. -- Increasing tension between Ameren Corp. and Missouri officials is delaying cleanup efforts at Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, which was devastated last year when Ameren's Taum Sauk reservoir collapsed. Missouri Department of Natural Resources director Doyle Childers said the Shut-Ins might not reopen next year as scheduled because Ameren has been "dragging its feet" on restoring a scenic waterway there...
Documents show Ameren's new dam safety chief didn't report problems with Taum Sauk reservoir
(10/05/06) ST. LOUIS -- Ameren Corp.'s new dam safety chief was one of several managers who failed to tell federal regulators about critical problems at the Taum Sauk reservoir for months before the dam collapsed, documents show. As Ameren's new chief dam safety engineer, Tom Hollenkamp will be the point man for reporting any safety problems at Ameren's hydroelectric plants to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission...
AmerenUE to pay $10 million fine
(10/03/06) AmerenUE will pay $15 million to settle federal claims stemming from the December reservoir collapse that sent more than 1 billion gallons of water surging through a state park, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced Monday. The utility agreed to pay a fine of $10 million to avoid prosecution for alleged violations of its license and another $5 million for community improvements in the area around the reservoir. ...
Taum Sauk disaster could aid cleanup of Doe Run lead pollution
(08/31/06) ST. LOUIS -- State officials want two St. Louis companies to use tons of soil from the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse to help reduce a long-standing pollution problem from lead mining in Southeast Missouri. The plan could take two environmental problems and make one solution, Missouri Department of Natural Resources deputy director Kurt Schaefer said Wednesday...
Public can view redevelopment plans for Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park
(08/22/06) JOHNSON'S SHUT-INS STATE PARK, Mo. -- The curious have just six more weeks to visit Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park before what had been one of the state's most popular recreation areas will be closed for restoration. The park near Lesterville in southeast Missouri, which was devastated by a torrent of water from a breach in the Taum Sauk Reservoir last December, will close Oct. 2...
DNR chief says Nixon wields 'heavy hammer' in Ameren case
(06/24/06) Attorney General Jay Nixon retains the authority to file criminal charges against AmerenUE for the December collapse of a mountaintop reservoir despite being dismissed from his role as attorney for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. In an interview with the Southeast Missourian, DNR director Doyle Childers said that "heavy hammer" leaves Nixon a large role in determining the outcome of negotiations with the utility...
DNR director discusses Taum Sauk reservoir breach
(06/23/06) Attorney General Jay Nixon's acceptance of campaign donations from the Ameren Corp., a target of litigation in the Taum Sauk reservoir breach, would get any other lawyer disbarred, Department of Natural Resources director Doyle Chilers said Thursday in Cape Girardeau...
DNR goes with own attorney in legal dispute over Taum Sauk investigation
(06/20/06) ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources will no longer let Attorney General Jay Nixon represent the agency in its case against Ameren Corp. over the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse. The move comes after DNR director Doyle Childers asked Nixon to recuse himself from the case June 7 because Nixon accepted $19,000 in campaign contributions that originated with Ameren. Nixon refused to step aside and returned the donations the next day...
Nixon will return more than $19,000 donated indirectly from Ameren
(06/09/06) ST. LOUIS -- Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon will return more than $19,000 in donations to his gubernatorial campaign that came indirectly from Ameren Corp., the utility he is investigating over the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse. Nixon's campaign treasurer Craig Hosmer said returning the money doesn't mean Nixon was wrong to accept it. He said Nixon wants to eliminate any appearance of a conflict of interest as he investigates Ameren...
Nixon stays on Taum Sauk investigation
(06/08/06) ST. LOUIS -- Missouri's natural resources chief asked Attorney General Jay Nixon on Wednesday to recuse himself from the investigation into Ameren Corp.'s Taum Sauk reservoir collapse, saying Nixon's acceptance of more than $19,000 in campaign contributions this year that originated with Ameren amounted to a conflict of interest...
Blunt: Ameren donations to Nixon 'disturbing'
(06/07/06) Attorney General Jay Nixon's campaign contributions from AmerenUE are "clearly disturbing" as the state attempts to hold the utility accountable for the disastrous rupture of the Taum Sauk reservoir, Gov. Matt Blunt said Tuesday. During a news conference in Cape Girardeau, Blunt said Nixon hasn't been sharing information about the case Nixon's office is preparing against Ameren. ... 
Damaged park will show off restoration
(05/26/06)LESTERVILLE, Mo. -- On Dec. 14, Kimberly Burfield's dream job became a nightmare. But Burfield, who at the time was assistant superintendent of Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, didn't take much time for personal disappointment. She dived into the job of rebuilding the park after 1.3 billion gallons of water crashed from nearby Proffit Mountain, devastating the park and wiping out the home of her boss, Jerry Toops, and his family...
Johnson's Shut-Ins will reopen May 27
(05/18/06) LESTERVILLE, Mo. -- The state park that was damaged when a hydroelectric plant's reservoir broke in December will reopen for the start of the tourism season, officials with the state Department of Natural Resources said Wednesday. The reservoir breach at Ameren Corp.'s Taum Sauk hydroelectric plant on Dec. 14 sent 1.3 billion gallons of water down the side of a mountain and gushing through Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park near Lesterville, about 120 miles southwest of St. Louis...
Nixon delays Taum Sauk lawsuit
(05/16/06) ST. LOUIS -- Nearly a month ago, Attorney General Jay Nixon said he would soon file criminal or civil charges against Ameren Corp. because of the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse. No suit has been filed, and a Nixon spokesman said the legal situation has changed, although he wouldn't elaborate...
DNR bills Ameren for Taum Sauk cleanup
(05/05/06) ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has billed Ameren Corp. nearly $495,000 to pay for the agency's oversight of clean-up efforts resulting from the collapse of Ameren's Taum Sauk Reservoir. The reservoir collapsed Dec. 14, sending more than 1 billion gallons of water rushing through Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park...
Senate votes to step up dam inspections
(04/21/06) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Senate passed legislation stepping up state inspections of dams Thursday in response to December's failure of the Taum Sauk reservoir. The bill, which now heads to the House, would more than triple the number of dams inspected by the Department of Natural Resources, more than double its inspection staff and authorize new fees to pay for the regulation...
Nixon preparing Ameren suit
(04/21/06) ST. LOUIS -- Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon said Thursday he is preparing a lawsuit against Ameren Corp. for its operations at the Taum Sauk reservoir before it collapsed in December. The St. Louis-based utility emphasized profits over safety at the Taum Sauk hydroelectric plant and delayed critical repairs for months before the collapse to maximize income, Nixon said...
Blunt wants Ameren to donate railroad and mountain
(04/15/06) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Matt Blunt wants Ameren Corp. to give the state a mountain and let it use an old railroad as compensation for the Taum Sauk reservoir failure. Ameren already is paying to clean up Johnson Shut-Ins State Park, which was washed out when the reservoir break sent more than 1 billion gallons of water flowing down a mountain on Dec. 14...
Report finds shoddy work partly to blame for reservoir collapse
(04/08/06) ST. LOUIS -- Shoddy construction and instrumentation problems were partly to blame for the December collapse of Ameren Corp.'s Taum Sauk reservoir, according to a company-commissioned report released Friday. The report was written by dam safety consultant Paul C. ...
Park flooded by dam failure plans partial reopening in May
(04/05/06) LESTERVILLE, Mo. -- State officials plan to reopen Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park by Memorial Day, but swimming and camping will remain off-limits as the property undergoes extensive repairs from a dam failure that flooded it. Visitors will be able to watch restoration work, walk to some of the narrow gorges known as shut-ins and visit the park store. But many restrictions will be in place...
Blunt: State should oversee federally controlled dams
(02/14/06) ST. LOUIS -- Gov. Matt Blunt proposed new rules Monday that would give Missouri authority over federally regulated dams like the Taum Sauk reservoir, which collapsed in December. Blunt made his proposal on the recommendation of dam regulators at the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The department gave Blunt a report last week outlining sweeping changes that would increase the number of state-regulated dams from 600 to roughly 5,000...
DNR workers carving new park from rubble
(02/10/06) LESTERVILLE, Mo. -- Cleaning up Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park seems out of the question. So, to lure tourists back this summer, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources is carving a new park from the rubble. The agency had little choice. Huge swaths of the popular camping destination are buried under a carpet of mud, boulders and splintered tree trunks that swept over the park Dec. 14 after the Taum Sauk reservoir collapsed...
Officials unsure when Black River will run clear again
(02/04/06) While water clarity in the Black River has improved following a breach at the Taum Sauk reservoir last year, officials Friday were uncertain how long until it would return to the crystal clarity it is known for. AmerenUE has been working to improve the damage done to the river and surrounding area since a Dec. 14 breach at the Taum Sauk hydroelectric plant... 
23 dams go unregulated in Cape Girardeau County
(01/31/06)Little Bear Lake provides the residents of the Lakeview Estates and Chateau Oaks subdivision with an amazing view and easy access to recreation. The nearly 10-acre lake reaches a depth of more than 30 feet at some points. For about 40 years, the lake waters have been held in check by a 32-foot high dam. But dams age. As they age, they deteriorate. Like anything else manmade, they need maintenance. The Little Bear Lake dam's time for repair is now...
Black River may be clean by weekend
(01/26/06) ST. LOUIS -- It's called the Black River, but the Southeast Missouri waterway has been more of a gunky brown since the reservoir at AmerenUE's Taum Sauk hydroelectric plant was breached in December. On Wednesday, AmerenUE crews began a three-day process they said should have the water back to normal as early as this weekend...
AmerenUE: Reservoir wasn't weakened by Sept. 25 overflow
(01/20/06) AmerenUE launched a counteroffensive Thursday to persuade the public that it responsibly operated a hydroelectric plant where a reservoir ruptured Dec. 14. The utility released a summary of a report it submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission about a Sept. 25 incident where water washed over the top of the reservoir. In a news release, AmerenUE said the overflow at that time was caused by high winds from the remnants of Hurricane Rita and "slightly elevated reservoir levels."...
DNR aids Nixon investigation into dam collapse
(01/19/06) ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources sent documents to Attorney General Jay Nixon late Wednesday to help his investigation into the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse. DNR deputy director Kurt Schaefer said the reports might help shed light on what caused AmerenUE's reservoir to collapse Dec. 14, sending about 1 billion gallons of water rushing through Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park and injuring a family of five...
Governor, attorney general disagree about reservoir rupture investigation
(01/18/06) ST. LOUIS -- Missouri's governor and attorney general are at odds over who should handle the investigation into a reservoir rupture in Southeast Missouri. The Dec. 14 rupture at the reservoir at AmerenUE's Taum Sauk hydroelectric plant outside of Lesterville released more than 1 billion gallons of water, causing extensive damage to Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, destroying the park superintendent's home and injuring his three children...
Blunt asks AG to charge Ameren UE for breach
(01/17/06) Gov. Matt Blunt called for civil or criminal charges to be filed against AmerenUE following an investigation into the Taum Sauk reservoir accident. Based on findings from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources' investigation into the accident, Blunt said in a statement Monday that he wants Attorney General Jay Nixon to file "appropriate civil or criminal litigation against Ameren."...
AmerenUE was told reservoir might fail
(01/16/06) ST. LOUIS -- Less than three months before the Taum Sauk reservoir collapsed, a plant superintendent sent an e-mail to several AmerenUE supervisors warning about a possible collapse, according to a newspaper report. The e-mail was prompted by a surge of water that overflowed the northwest wall of the reservoir on Sept. 25, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in Sunday's editions...
AmerenUE to submit plan for eliminating clay from Black River
(01/14/06) AmerenUE must submit a plan Tuesday for restoring the Black River by eliminating the suspended clay and other solids that turned the once-clear stream a cloudy gray. The change in water quality is one of the lingering effects of the reservoir rupture on Proffit Mountain that sent more than 1 billion gallons of water crashing through Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park. ...
Missouri reviewing plan to treat waters after Taum Sauk reservoir failure
(01/08/06) ST. LOUIS -- AmerenUE officials are awaiting state approval of a plan to treat murky waters with chemicals after a mountaintop dam burst last month. The company has proposed using chemicals in the lower Taum Sauk reservoir that will cause small floating particles of clay to bind together and drop to the bottom of the reservoir, said Mike Menne, vice president of environmental safety and health at Ameren...
Taum Sauk walls sagged for years, papers show
(01/07/06) ST. LOUIS -- Walls of the Taum Sauk reservoir had been slowly sinking for decades before the mountaintop dam burst last month, according to federal safety inspection documents. By 1997, some stretches of the Southeast Missouri reservoir had sunk as much as 1.6 feet and could have settled more since then, according to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission documents obtained by the Associated Press...
Parents tell how family survived levee break
(12/24/05) ST. LOUIS -- Jerry Toops heard his wife scream his name in the dark. He awoke to hear a roar he could only describe as a calvacade of F-14 jets if combined with a fleet of trains. When a reservoir at AmerenUE's Taum Sauk hydroelectric plant broke in Southeast Missouri on Dec. 14, the five members of the Toops family were caught up in about a billion gallons of water that swept away their home. Somehow, they all survived...
Blunt: DNR to use emergency funds for restoration of reservoir
(12/23/05) ST. LOUIS -- A week after a reservoir break in Southeast Missouri, Gov. Matt Blunt on Thursday directed the use of emergency funds to cover the state's interim costs to restore and stabilize the area until the state can be reimbursed by AmerenUE. The state Department of Natural Resources is incurring personnel and other costs as it oversees the restoration and stabilization of Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park and other areas affected by the breach of AmerenUE's hydroelectric plant reservoir last week, said Jessica Robinson, a spokeswoman for Blunt.. ...
State orders more clean-up; injured child improving
(12/22/05) ST. LOUIS -- A week after a reservoir break in Southeast Missouri, the state on Wednesday ordered additional cleanup. Meanwhile, a child injured when a wall of water struck his home improved to fair condition. Gov. Matt Blunt directed the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to issue a second order to AmerenUE, telling the utility to take additional steps to address sediment and debris removal near the Taum Sauk reservoir failure...
DNR: Ameren to clean up breach damage
(12/21/05) LESTERVILLE, Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources plans to issue an order to AmerenUE on Wednesday to clean up damage from a reservoir breach at its Southeast Missouri power plant. DNR deputy director Mike Wells said the order came after his agency met Tuesday with AmerenUE representatives and members of the public in Lesterville, near the reservoir...
Inspectors shocked to find reservoir wall was composed of 'rubble'
(12/17/05) ST. LOUIS -- Inspectors searching for the cause of a reservoir breach that sent a billion-gallon torrent of water streaming down the side of an Ozark mountain were dumbfounded by what they saw: the retaining wall wasn't built with granite. Instead, the broken portion of the wall -- 70 to 80 feet high and about two football fields wide -- appeared to consist entirely of soil and smaller rock. For decades, it was assumed that granite was the main material keeping water in the reservoir...
Lesterville residents aid Shut-Ins family
(12/16/05) Residents of Lesterville, Mo., on Thursday came to the aid of the family swept out of their beds the day before by a 1-billion-gallon torrent pouring down the side of Proffit Mountain. An account for Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park superintendent Jerry Toops, his wife and three children was established at a local bank. State parks employees also began pitching in, setting up an internal fund at division headquarters in Jefferson City...
Park suffers major damage from reservoir rupture
(12/16/05) Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park attracts about 250,000 visitors annually, but Wednesday's failure of a reservoir has shut down the park down until further notice. "Preliminarily, from the reports we got yesterday, there has been extensive damage to Johnson's Shut-Ins," Sue Holst, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Natural Resource's parks division, said Thursday... 
Taum Sauk levee breaks
(12/15/05)LESTERVILLE, Mo. -- A 5-million-ton torrent crashed down Proffit Mountain Wednesday, sweeping away the home of a sleeping state park superintendent and seriously injuring his children. Nearly 80 percent of the water in the storage basin of AmerenUE's Taum Sauk Hydroelectric Plant drained in a matter of minutes around 5:30 a.m. ...
Destruction won't affect local service, AmerenUE officials say
(12/15/05) The breach of the upper-reservoir at the Taum Sauk Hydroelectric Plant near Lesterville will not affect local electric service, say officials at AmerenUE. Jean Mason, AmerenUE's Southeast Missouri manager, spent the day surveying the afflicted area and says the damage caused by the breach is the issue concerning her...
Inspector "shocked" to find fill in reservoir wall
(12/15/05)
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Missouri inspectors were "shocked" to discover that the portion of a collapsed reservoir was made from rocky "fill" instead of the granite that was assumed for decades to be the main material, the state's chief dam and reservoir inspector said Thursday... |