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News :: Environment : Political-Economy |
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Feds: Ameren Could Have Fixed Reservoir |
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by via AP
(No verified email address) |
01 May 2006
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Agency spokesman Bryan Lee said Ameren ''set the stage'' for the collapse by delaying repairs at the reservoir. He said Ameren failed to tell FERC about the situation.
''The bottom line is that (FERC) was not informed of these matters, and the commission only learned of these problems in the wake of the breach,'' Lee said. |
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Ameren Corp. could have made critical repairs at the Taum Sauk reservoir three weeks before its Dec. 14 collapse, according to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission report released Monday.
Ameren knew for months that water level gauges at the reservoir were broken, which could cause it to overflow and collapse. But the company never told FERC about the problems and Ameren managers didn't schedule repairs to be done until this spring, FERC's report says.
FERC, which regulates the Taum Sauk reservoir, deemed it was safe in an annual inspection report submitted the day after the earthen wall collapsed and sent more than 1 billion gallons of water rushing through Johnson's Shut-Ins Sate Park and injuring a family of five.
Agency spokesman Bryan Lee said Ameren ''set the stage'' for the collapse by delaying repairs at the reservoir. He said Ameren failed to tell FERC about the situation.
''The bottom line is that (FERC) was not informed of these matters, and the commission only learned of these problems in the wake of the breach,'' Lee said.
Ameren spokeswoman Susan Gallagher said in a statement that the company was still reviewing FERC's report Monday evening. Her statement said the report was ''comprehensive and informative'' and seemed to mirror some conclusions in Ameren's own report on the accident.
Attorney General Jay Nixon said he is preparing to sue Ameren over the breach, and that the company placed profits over safety at the reservoir before it collapsed. Nixon spokesman John Fougere said he was reviewing FERC's report Monday and could not comment on its findings.
FERC's staff report will be submitted to a panel of independent experts who will consider it and Ameren's report on the accident. The independent panel will issue its own findings on the collapse by May or June, according to the agency.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press
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