Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Blunt Touts Taum Sauk Settlement

A Reynolds County judge has approved a settlement between Ameren UE and the state over the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse.


The utility will pay 180 million dollars in cash and property, and the state will drop a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Jay Nixon.

“The settlement we negotiated which has now been finalized compensates the people of Reynolds County and the State of Missouri for the loss of natural resources and recreation associated with the Ameren Taum Sauk disaster," Gov. Matt Blunt said in a statement today.

“I am pleased that in addition to providing direct assistance to the citizens of Reynolds County, we have an agreement that includes rebuilding Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park and completing the Katy Trail from St. Louis to Kansas City, two priorities I identified and fought to secure throughout this process."

The reservoir collapsed in December of 2005 because of faulty equipment that Ameren delayed repairing.

The resulting flood injured a family of five and devastated the popular Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park.

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