ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Officials in the City of St. Charles reportedly discovered a spill at Ameren’s substation on Huster Road, and now they’re searching for answers.
Mayor Dan Borgmeyer said the city has been monitoring the facility for years and made an alarming discovery two days ago with a drone.
“Now, we found a new transformer here that’s leaking, leaking into the water system…matter of fact, it’s leaking into the drainage system all the way to the Mississippi River,” Borgmeyer said. “We have drone footage where, at first, it was just a small little spill around, and now I’d say it’s the size of a football field.”
St. Charles has reported the leak to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources as well as the EPA.
DNR has taken over the issue now that it’s possible contamination could be in the Mississippi River.
The mayor said they don’t know what the possible contaminants are in the river currently. The city has already been in a battle with Ameren over a separate ground contamination.
“It just goes on and on and on; we’re getting no relief and it’s not fair to our taxpayers to have to bear that burden,” the mayor said.
FOX 2 reached out to Ameren and received the following response:
Ameren Missouri is upgrading an electrical transformer at the Huster substation to better serve our customers with reliable energy in St. Charles County. The transformer has been in place for decades; the gravel underneath and adjacent to the equipment has become stained and discolored and will be replaced. The transformer is filled with mineral oil, and replacement of gravel is a typical maintenance activity. Throughout this process, we have remained in contact with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR).
We’ve conducted an inspection and there is no merit to the City’s complaint with MDNR about our onsite remediation system. There is no health risk, and it is not affecting ongoing groundwater treatment techniques approved and overseen by the EPA.
Craig Giesmann
Director, Environmental Services
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