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Judge OKs Taum Sauk settlement

St. Louis Public Radio
Published Jan. 9, 2008 at 12:12 a.m. CST
Ameren's Taum Sauk Reservoir failed in late 2005, sending more than a billion gallons of water into Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park.
(UPI file photo, Bill Greenblatt)
Ameren's Taum Sauk Reservoir failed in late 2005, sending more than a billion gallons of water into Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park.

By AP/KWMU

CENTERVILLE, Mo. – A judge in Reynolds County has approved a settlement where Ameren Corp. will pay $180 million in cash and property to compensate the state for the 2005 Taum Sauk reservoir collapse.

The settlement agreement was reached in November, but Judge William Seay gave it his final approval Wednesday in a Centerville courtroom.

The agreement will end a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Jay Nixon and settle all other state demands for compensation. The agreement ended months of negotiations between the St. Louis-based company and three state agencies.

The reservoir collapsed 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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