Missouri Bicycle News

Today the Missouri Department of Natural Resources announced their proposed settlement with the Ameren Corporation over a dam failure that destroyed a state park:

Nearly a year after Ameren Corp.'s Taum Sauk reservoir burst, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has offered a settlement proposal to the St. Louis-based utility company, DNR officials said Tuesday.

As part of the proposal, Ameren would either give to the state or allow the state to use a mountain it owns near the site of the reservoir collapse and a stretch of railroad right-of-way the company owns in western Missouri. . . .

In the spring, Gov. Blunt directed DNR to consider "creative" ways that Ameren could compensate the state. As part of the settlement proposal, Ameren would either give up or share two properties that DNR officials believe could provide ample recreation - the old Rock Island Railroad corridor and Church Mountain, both of which are owned by Ameren.

The rail corridor covers 47 miles and runs from the west-central Missouri town Windsor west to Pleasant Hills, near Kansas City.

Schaefer said the rail line could be turned into a biking and hiking path similar to the Katy Trail. In fact, DNR could connect the two, meaning patrons could virtually cross the state on a path. The Katy Trail starts in St. Charles, near St. Louis, and covers more 225 miles, ending in Clinton, near Sedalia.

"There's been a lot of interest expressed in the Kansas City area that if the trail could get to Pleasant Hills, a number of interested parties would like to extend it into Kansas City," Schaefer said.

Read the rest of the Belleville Democrat article here.

Thousands of mail and email messages and phone calls from trail supporters from across Missouri and across the U.S. have helped keep the idea of the Katy Trail Connection to Kansas City part of this agreement.

If you have not sent your monthly reminder about the Katy Trail to DNR and Ameren, now would be a good time--it takes about two minutes. permanent link to article: "DNR proposes Taum Sauk settlement to include Katy Trail Connection"
posted by Brent Hugh at 12/12/2006 12:16:00 PM |comment on this article