Taum Sauk settlement ends state lawsuit

CENTERVILLE — A judge in Reynolds County approved a settlement where Ameren Corp. agreed to pay $180 million in cash and property to compensate the state for the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse of 2005.

The settlement agreement was reached in November, but Judge William Seay gave it the OK in a Centerville courtroom. The agreement will end a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Jay Nixon and settle all other state demands for compensation. The agreement ended months of negotiations between the St. Louis-based company and three state agencies.

The reservoir collapsed because of faulty equipment that Ameren delayed repairing. The resulting flood injured a family of five and devastated the popular Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park.