ST CHARLES, Mo. — The City of St. Charles said it was "left with no choice" but to seek a temporary restraining order against Ameren, claiming the company has failed to respond to the city's orders to halt the construction of an extraction well.
Ameren Missouri in return is arguing that the well is only necessary due to "irresponsible" and "inappropriate" actions of the city to hamper contamination cleanup efforts at the Elm Point Wellfield.
The city announced Thursday that it has filed a motion for a temporary restraining order with the St. Charles County Circuit Court seeking to halt construction of an extraction well at Ameren's substation on Huster Road.
It's the latest development in ongoing contention between Ameren in the city since six of the seven wells at Elm Point Wellfield had to be shut down due to contamination, which the EPA found originated from an Ameren substation. Ameren was ordered to clean up the contamination.
During a weekly technical call with the EPA on Wednesday, city leaders said they learned for the first time that Ameren planned to drill the extraction well without approval from the EPA. The city claimed the well could release "a significant amount of new contaminants" into the groundwater from which the city derives its drinking water.
The city said regulations mandate Ameren must seek the city's approval before commencing any construction, which the company has not done.
St. Charles said it posted a "stop work order" at the substation Thursday morning and twice contacted Ameren to seek confirmation that it won't drill the well, but did not receive a response.
"It is unfortunate that Ameren’s leadership chooses to take a confrontational path by flaunting the laws of the City of St. Charles while at the same time placing its residents at risk by potentially contaminating its groundwater," city leaders said in a statement.
An Ameren Missouri spokesperson took a different tune, claiming in a statement that the city "continues to misrepresent the facts and intentionally delay ongoing remediation efforts."
"On multiple occasions, Ameren Missouri has sent letters to the city pointing out that the city is acting irresponsibly by attempting to hamper remediation work by operating City Well 4 to negatively influence ongoing treatment," the spokesperson said. "It is inappropriate. In the last 30 days, it's estimated that the city has wasted more than 48 million gallons of clean groundwater by pumping it directly into the sewer system. That's the equivalent of draining a 10-acre, 14-foot-deep pond."
"Ameren Missouri has operated numerous onsite extraction wells at the Huster site since 2014. The proposed well is only necessary due to the city's irresponsible behavior regarding City Well 4. Treatment techniques in progress are approved and performed under the supervision of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and future treatment work will commence after EPA approval."
