by Ken Midkiff
The flood resulting from the AmerenUE owned and managed reservoir atop Profitt Mountain has been well-documented. There are photos of the devastation on the websites of Missouri State Parks and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park suffered severe damage, including devastation of the public campground, re-channeling of the East Fork of the Black River, heavy siltation of the fens, a boulder and re-bar strewn valley, and the park superintendent’s residence was swept away (along with the park superintendent and his family). The State Park was closed for several months so that hazards could be removed and is now open on a limited basis. The Shut-Ins – the main attraction of the State Park – are closed to public access.
That’s all bad enough. But now, AmerenUE is deliberating over whether or not to reconstruct the pumped storage facility atop Profitt Mountain. It has been learned that one of the key points of consideration is economics. There is little doubt that it will be very costly to re-construct what was there. The reservoir has a gaping hole in one side; the pipes leading to the turbines were destroyed; the pumps that took water up to the reservoir will need to be replaced; and the turbines were heavily damaged. There is also little doubt that the Upper Taum Sauk Reservoir and the pumped storage technology was quite profitable (this was mostly a variation of the “buy low, sell high” scheme—during the day, when peak demand resulted in high electricity prices, the water stored in the reservoir turned the turbines. At night, when demand and prices were low, huge pumps refilled the reservoir).
One of the considerations is to build an entirely new facility atop Church Mountain, immediately to the east of Profitt Mountain. Church is a few feet taller than Profitt, so any reservoir and turbine system there would likely result in more kilowatt hours. However, Church Mountain is currently leased to the State of Missouri as a part of the Johnson Shut-Ins State Park and a portion of the Ozark Trail wanders though the area. Church Mountain is extremely attractive—harboring a plethora of Ozark flora and fauna—and is part of the St. Francois Mountains, an igneous outcropping of ancient rock. Taum Sauk Mountain, to the east of Church Mountain, is the most renowned feature of the St. Francois Mountains, as it is the highest point in the state of Missouri.
The position of Missouri’s Ozark Chapter on this remains unchanged since AmerenUE proposed a pumped storage facility—with a lake on top of Church Mountain—in 2001. We remain opposed to any desecration of Church Mountain.