Ameren files plan to rebuild Taum Sauk reservoir

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- 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.

The company said insurance should pay for most of the cost of rebuilding the reservoir. Spokeswoman Susan Gallagher said Ameren isn't releasing the estimated cost of rebuilding.

Ameren has long hinted it might rebuild the reservoir, but its filing marks the first time the company has officially said it will proceed with the project. The original reservoir collapsed in late 2005 after faulty gauges caused it to overflow.

Ameren is still caught up in legal troubles resulting from the reservoir collapse. Attorney General Jay Nixon has filed a civil lawsuit that alleges senior officials at Ameren knew equipment was broken at the power plant but ordered it to keep running for the sake of profits.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has proposed that Ameren pay more than $125 million because of the collapse. The proposed settlement includes money to rebuild Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, which was devastated when more than one billion gallons of water rushed from the breached reservoir.

Park superintendent Jerry Toops, his wife and three children were caught in the deluge. All five survived.

FERC has already levied a $15 million fine against Ameren over the collapse, the largest in the regulator's history. The agency didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.

Ameren said in a statement Monday that it would rebuild the reservoir in accordance with federal safety standards. A company report found last year that the original 1960's-era reservoir was shoddily constructed.

"We would not be returning this plant to service if we were not absolutely certain that our design met, or exceeded, all modern safety criteria," said Thomas Voss, who is president and chief executive officer of Ameren's Missouri-based subsidiary AmerenUE.

"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," Voss said in a statement.

Ameren said FERC will take public comment on the rebuild plan as the agency considers the proposal.

The DNR still wants to recoup damages from the reservoir collapse, but wouldn't oppose Ameren's plan to rebuild Taum Sauk, DNR Deputy Director Kurt Schaefer said.

"As long as it can be done in an environmentally sound and publicly safe manner, the department does not oppose the rebuild," Schaefer said.

Ameren has filed a motion to change the venue of Nixon's lawsuit from the company's hometown of St. Louis to Reynolds County, where the reservoir is based.

Nixon's office didn't immediately return a message seeking comment Monday.

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