“Ameren Missouri recognizes local communities and property owners in the Lake of the Ozarks area are very concerned about the order recently issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on the Shoreline Management Plan,” says Richard Mark, Ameren Missouri senior vice president. “We want to assure everyone that we are committed to working as quickly as the process will allow us to resolve those concerns.”
The new FERC order clarifies the agency’s position regarding structures within the Project Boundary – an elevation-based, Ameren Missouri-owned strip of land surrounding the Lake’s shoreline.
The order directs Ameren Missouri to do what the company had initially proposed to resolve the issue of encroachments within the Project Boundary – namely, to redraw the boundary, where appropriate, so the vast majority of properties currently identified as encroachments would no longer be considered as such and to work with the remaining property owners on a case-by-case basis to determine a solution.
Ameren Missouri has been a good steward of the shoreline and will continue to do so as we work to resolve this issue by balancing the requirements of our FERC license with the needs of the local community.
It should be noted that under the FERC order the process for submitting a proposal includes conducting comprehensive studies in areas such as environmental protection recreation, and power production.
Ameren Missouri will work aggressively to submit our proposal before the June 2012 deadline established by FERC, if at all possible; after which, FERC will have an unspecified amount of time to respond.
“FERC would still have final approval over whatever solutions Ameren Missouri proposes,” explains Mark. “We can make proposals that Ameren Missouri and the affected property owners believe are appropriate, but the outcome won’t be final until FERC approves.”
Ameren Missouri was required to file a new Shoreline Management Plan as part of the new 40-year license for the operation of Bagnell Dam and its electric generating facility—the Osage Renewable Energy Center—that FERC approved in March 2007. After numerous meetings to gather input from local officials and representatives of business interests, resource agencies, and the general public, Ameren Missouri filed the plan in March 2008. FERC approved the plan, with modifications, on July 26, 2011.
FERC’s recent order came in response to a petition filed by Ameren Missouri Aug. 26, seeking reconsideration of certain parts of FERC’s July 26 order. Ameren Missouri’s petition cited concerns with the deadlines for compliance in the original FERC order and the potential impact on privately-owned structures located within the Project Boundary.
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Ameren Missouri has been providing electric and gas service for more than a century, and our electric rates are among the lowest in the nation. We serve 1.2 million electric and 126,000 natural gas customers in central and eastern Missouri. Our mission is to meet their energy needs in a safe, reliable, efficient and environmentally responsible manner. Our service area covers 63 counties and 500 towns, including the greater St. Louis area. For more information, visit AmerenMissouri.com.