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At the second town hall meeting to discuss recent proceedings with the shoreline management plan, Ameren Missouri insists they’ve been transparent throughout the entire process, despite the amount of misinformation circulating. By attending the meeting, their hope was to clear up a number of rumors.
Jeff Green, with Ameren Missouri, explained the long process of how and why the shoreline management plan is needed, and the company’s process of how they worked on it.
Hundreds of meetings were held throughout all four counties, he said, of which only a few in the audience raised their hands saying they attended.
When it was time to submit their plan to FERC, the original request included a provision that Ameren Missouri had the rights to go through case-by-case and adjust the easement line surrounding Lake of the Ozarks.
That original request was turned down by FERC, he said.
“Maybe they didn’t understand, maybe we didn’t do a good enough job explaining it,” he said.
Now that 4,000 structures including 1,200 homes are fully or partially within the boundary lines, and there’s been a lot of attention on the issue. Green said he hopes FERC will take notice.
Ameren Missouri has filed another request asking FERC to allow the company to go below the 662-foot line in some cases. That request isn’t expected to be taken up until 2012.
“At the end of the day, we’re trying to show FERC that we’re good stewards,” Green said.
The shoreline management plan is a document that the company had to file with FERC as part of its relicensing to operate the hydroelectric plant at Bagnell Dam. Over the course of the several years it took to write the plan, Ameren Missouri held meetings with all types of state agencies, local organizations and held public meetings. Their hope was to balance all the organizations who had a stake in the health and development of Lake of the Ozarks.
Transparency is still one of their top concerns, Green said.
The company has created a website and hotline number for people with questions about the plan. The website can be found through the company’s website and the hotline number is 573-365-9273.
Stacey Shore asked several questions during the town hall meeting, even stating that the lake is not a Corps of Engineers lake.
Lake of the Ozarks is federal navigable waters, which allows the U.S. Coast Guard to have a presence. Because of wording in a 1930s contract, property rights were given to private landholders as long as Ameren Missouri maintained easement rights.
Shore also asked the company to produce maps that detailed where the heads of coves were because they play an important role in the shoreline management plan, she said. The terms used to describe what they are are ambiguous and vague, she said, yet play an important role.
Shore, along with many others in attendance, are in favor of Ameren Missouri relinquishing rights over the shoreline management plan to local government for enforcement.
Green said that idea was not really an option.
Since the company was going to be held responsible for the plan and enforcement, they had no plans to let someone else take over.
“If we’re responsible, we want to be involved,” Green said.
A partnership is a viable option, Green added, noting that the company has partnered with municipalities in the past.
At the second town hall meeting to discuss recent proceedings with the shoreline management plan, Ameren Missouri insists they’ve been transparent throughout the entire process, despite the amount of misinformation circulating. By attending the meeting, their hope was to clear up a number of rumors.
Jeff Green, with Ameren Missouri, explained the long process of how and why the shoreline management plan is needed, and the company’s process of how they worked on it.
Hundreds of meetings were held throughout all four counties, he said, of which only a few in the audience raised their hands saying they attended.
When it was time to submit their plan to FERC, the original request included a provision that Ameren Missouri had the rights to go through case-by-case and adjust the easement line surrounding Lake of the Ozarks.
That original request was turned down by FERC, he said.
“Maybe they didn’t understand, maybe we didn’t do a good enough job explaining it,” he said.
Now that 4,000 structures including 1,200 homes are fully or partially within the boundary lines, and there’s been a lot of attention on the issue. Green said he hopes FERC will take notice.
Ameren Missouri has filed another request asking FERC to allow the company to go below the 662-foot line in some cases. That request isn’t expected to be taken up until 2012.
“At the end of the day, we’re trying to show FERC that we’re good stewards,” Green said.
The shoreline management plan is a document that the company had to file with FERC as part of its relicensing to operate the hydroelectric plant at Bagnell Dam. Over the course of the several years it took to write the plan, Ameren Missouri held meetings with all types of state agencies, local organizations and held public meetings. Their hope was to balance all the organizations who had a stake in the health and development of Lake of the Ozarks.
Transparency is still one of their top concerns, Green said.
The company has created a website and hotline number for people with questions about the plan. The website can be found through the company’s website and the hotline number is 573-365-9273.
Stacey Shore asked several questions during the town hall meeting, even stating that the lake is not a Corps of Engineers lake.
Lake of the Ozarks is federal navigable waters, which allows the U.S. Coast Guard to have a presence. Because of wording in a 1930s contract, property rights were given to private landholders as long as Ameren Missouri maintained easement rights.
Shore also asked the company to produce maps that detailed where the heads of coves were because they play an important role in the shoreline management plan, she said. The terms used to describe what they are are ambiguous and vague, she said, yet play an important role.
Shore, along with many others in attendance, are in favor of Ameren Missouri relinquishing rights over the shoreline management plan to local government for enforcement.
Green said that idea was not really an option.
Since the company was going to be held responsible for the plan and enforcement, they had no plans to let someone else take over.
“If we’re responsible, we want to be involved,” Green said.
A partnership is a viable option, Green added, noting that the company has partnered with municipalities in the past.
