News Release No. 505

STATE LOOKS FOR FAST ANSWERS ON RESERVOIR FAILURE

Volume 33-505

Contact: Connie Patterson

(For immediate release)

573-751-1010

Department of Natural Resources offers help to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, DEC. 15, 2005 -- Missouri Department of Natural Resources Director Doyle Childers today called on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to quickly answer a question on the mind of many Missourians: What caused the failure of the Taum Sauk Reservoir yesterday?

Childers and State Parks Division Director Doug Eiken joined the agency’s environmental emergency response and parks staff in Reynolds County to learn more about the impacts from yesterday’s flooding. A major breach in the upper reservoir of AmerenUE’s Taum Sauk Hydroelectric Plant flooded Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park and nearby roads.

“Governor Blunt has asked me to push for a rapid response to our request for information from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on what happened here yesterday,” Childers said. “Our folks will be working closely with the federal commission as it begins its investigation today.”

The State of Missouri does not regulate this type of dam. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission inspects AmerenUE’s Taum Sauk Hydroelectric Plant, located near Lesterville in Reynolds County, on an annual basis. Approximately 1.3 billion gallons of water from the plant’s upper reservoir flooded Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park and nearby roads yesterday.

The Department of Natural Resources is providing escorted access into the park today for the U.S. Geological Survey. The department has asked the survey to conduct a flood study, which will show the extent and volume of water discharged over the area and will document the actual event.
The department is also working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service for technical assistance on options to prevent additional sediment from entering the Black River.

A team from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has begun an assessment of damage to Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park near Lesterville following yesterday’s failure of the nearby Taum Sauk Reservoir. Staff members from the department’s State Parks and Geology and Land Survey divisions and the Missouri Department of Conservation are also beginning work on a natural resource damages assessment to the area.

The Department of Natural Resources is meeting today with the Attorney General’s Office to evaluate all legal options that may be necessary to address immediate stabilization of the Black River.
Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park, which sustained major damage from the flooding, remains closed indefinitely.

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.

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