More Investigations
Now the EPA is investigating the Taum Sauk event. Will it never end?
posted by staff @ 7:49 AM
4 comments
Black River News
Archive of posts made between December 25, 2005 and December 14, 2008 about the Taum Sauk Reservoir failure and the damage to the Shut-Ins and the Black River. This blog was posted by Lee Ferber of Peola Valley Pottery in Lesterville. The pottery was closed in 2007.
4 Comments:
After the initial investigation to rule out terrorism or malicious sabotage, and after Ameren publicly accepted responsibility for the cleanup, 7/8s of the effort should have been turned to assessing the feasibility of rebuild in terms of engineering,public safety and future environmental impact. And *that* should have been the big news story.
Most of that has been kept under wraps behind the political dog and pony show, as well as the big show about public comment on the rebuild of the park, most of which has been discarded.
I understand there is also a move afoot to rename the park. That's going to be about as successful as turning Times Beach, Mo. to Rt. 66 State Park.
"They" just don't get it.
Saying "we accept responsibility" and actually accepting responsibility are two separate things.
They paid FERC a pile of money, but admitted nothing. They haven't admitted liability in the state case and said "Our bad, please lets just fight over the amount."
No one was fired, suspended or had a pay cut. They have fought any real cleanup of the river below the reservoir and seem to think they are done with that part.
But, the more they say "we accept responsibility" over and over, the more people actually believe it.
Finally, the right people (U.S. Attorney and EPA) are investigating. Maybe someone will actually be held responsible (I'm not holding my breath thought).
Rename the park? Something like "Ameren's Big Screwup State Park"
There was no one to fire, because there was no one onsite. Otherwise, little heads would have rolled, but no big ones. The big boys never do.
Most of the people truly responsible for the problem (bad initial design)are dead or retired.
A passive spillway would have mitigated the overtopping and collapse.
They have been further 'fined' by the PSC-- I have no doubt their rate increase would have danced through if not for this debacle and their massive mess in STL last July.
They have spend a pile of money on JSI cleanup already. On the lower river, they have a point, since the lower reservoir held, that they beyond there a lot of what happened was no worse than a regular flood.
There is no point in pointing fingers at this point. Why cry over spilled water? Just get the mess (political and physical) cleaned up for good and move on.
The person responsible (and who ought to be punished somehow), is the person who knew the gauges were broken, moved the gauges, and operated the plant anyway. Who?
The effect wasn't like a normal flood. There was 200,000 cfs of water. That is twice the summertime flow of the Mississippi at St. Louis. They should have to remove the silt from the river (a guy keeps comment to FERC his company can do it).
Nixon dropped the ball. He should have followed up on the Highway Patrol report with subpeopeas. Now, maybe the feds will do it for him.
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