ST CHARLES, Mo. — Ameren and the City of St. Charles have reached an agreement providing access to the Elm Point Wellfield, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says.
The agreement that was finalized on May 5 provides Ameren access to conduct monitoring of the Elm Point Wellfield, as required by the EPA.
The City of St. Charles has shut down six of its seven wells since October 2022 due to traces of 1,2-dichloroethene and vinyl chloride.
EPA test results revealed an Ameren substation was the source of the water contamination and said the electric company would be required to clean it up.
The EPA announced it was directing Ameren to conduct additional cleanup work as part of a 2018 agreement. The EPA said Ameren needed to perform cleanup pilot studies to reduce contaminants, look into different courses of action to keep the contamination from happening and work with St. Charles to address the city's water supply needs while the fixes are being developed and implemented.
Since November 2022, Ameren and St. Charles had been negotiating on access to the wellfield to allow Ameren to monitor and sample work under EPA oversight, a press release said.
“EPA is encouraged by the parties reaching agreement on access,” said EPA Region 7 Superfund and Emergency Response Division Director Bob Jurgens. “With access in hand, EPA looks forward to seeing meaningful progress take place at the Elm Point Wellfield to ensure that St. Charles residents can continue to rely on their public drinking water system.”
The release said additional agreements will be required in the future for potential work other than monitoring. This would include additional sampling or installation of wells on city property.