Ameren Corp. reached a settlement that will require the utility to pay $180 million in cash and property to compensate for damages resulting from the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse in Missouri two years ago, The Associated Press reported.
Ameren is expected to announce the settlement soon, bringing an end to months of negotiations between the St. Louis-based company and three Missouri agencies. The agreement will end a civil lawsuit filed by Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon and settle all other state demands for compensation.
The mountaintop reservoir collapsed nearly two years ago, after Ameren delayed critical repairs there and faulty instruments caused the basin to overflow. The resulting flood devastated vast tracts of the Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park and injured a family of five.
The settlement includes up to $52 million to be spent to continue to perform additional cleanup, restoration and remediation work at Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park and in Goggins Mountain Wild Area, including enhanced campgrounds, roads and other facilities. The sites are located 100 miles south of St. Louis.
