Plant operator settles on Missouri dam suits

Anglers, farmers, boaters and property owners around Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks stand to reap millions of dollars worth of benefits and long-sought concessions in how AmerenUE operates Bagnell Dam.

The company announced May 18 that it had signed the agreement with state and federal agencies to clear the way for a new operating license for the dam and associated Osage Hydroelectric Power Plant.

The agreement requires AmerenUE to make one-time payments totaling $1.3 million to settle lawsuits by the Missouri Dept. of Conservation and the Missouri Attorney General’s office.

Those lawsuits stemmed from a 2002 incident that killed more than 43,000 fish at the hydropower facility.

Conservation Department assistant director Denise Garnier called the agreement “an enormous step forward in how we balance the needs of lakes and rivers.”

Garnier added that past operations at Bagnell Dam had not always placed enough value on hunting, fishing, boating, farming and the other ways that people use the Lake of the Ozarks and the Osage River.