News Release 552

STATEMENT FROM DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES DIRECTOR CHILDERS ON ATTORNEY GENERAL'S LAWSUIT AGAINST AMERENUE

State Agency Constitutionally Charged with Protecting Natural Resources not Party to Lawsuit

Volume 34-552

Contact: Connie Patterson

(For immediate release)

573-751-1010

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, DEC. 13, 2006 -- Although the Department of Natural Resources has removed Attorney General Jay Nixon as our legal representative on the AmerenUE issue due to his blatant conflict of interest by receiving money from the AmerenUE treasury (not the AmerenUE Political Action Committee as is customary), our agency has stayed in contact with the Attorney General on our settlement issues.

It is unfortunate that Attorney General Nixon has unilaterally decided to file suit against AmerenUE, without even consulting with the agency constitutionally charged with protecting the state's natural resources and operating Missouri's nationally recognized state park system.

The timing of this suit is particularly troubling given that the Attorney General just announced that he has been given the responsibility by AmerenUE to approve the distribution of the $5 million portion of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission fine for damages. It is difficult to comprehend how the Attorney General can be AmerenUE's agent on one hand while serving as its criminal prosecutor and now its civil adversary.

The Department of Natural Resources has been engaged in negotiations with AmerenUE that could bring significant monetary and other compensation to the citizens of Missouri for the damages caused by the catastrophic failure of the Taum Sauk reservoir. While the park and recreational opportunities would benefit all Missouri citizens, the financial settlement would benefit most those citizens living in the area where the breach occurred.

Unlike the Attorney General's decision to file suit without consulting with the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Natural Resources had kept his office advised on settlement issues. Recently, the Department of Natural Resources sought the Attorney General's comments on its proposed settlement. Unfortunately, Mr. Nixon failed to offer any suggestions or comments to the proposal and instead decided to advance his own agenda by filing suit today. The stakes of this case are too high for a public officeholder to hold them hostage for his own political agenda.

The Department of Natural Resources first received notice that the lawsuit had been filed after the Attorney General had filed it this afternoon and is in the process of evaluating it. What the Attorney General is seeking in his lawsuit mirrors what the Department of Natural Resources has already demanded of AmerenUE as part of its settlement proposal. This duplication of effort and waste of state tax dollars could have been avoided had the Attorney General been willing to engage in discussions earlier with the Department of Natural Resources as requested regarding resolution of these claims.

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