Vegetative Cover

Familiarize yourself with this one…”vegetative cover”.  You may not have to tear your house down now, but by the looks of it from the FERC Order and the explanations in Appendix B of the SMP it looks like a pretty realistic expectation that since YOUR EASEMENT is now AMEREN’S PROJECT BOUNDARY all of the rules have now changed.  So, in that area where your lakefront and yard meet, there is a strip of land in front of just about every lake front owner’s property where there exists our easement/their project boundary.  Apparently, according to the FERC, their project boundary rights trump our private property rights and the rules of “vegetative cover”  now apply.

FERC Order:

—  2.  Ameren Missouri reserves the right to plant vegetative materials within the project boundary. Ameren Missouri may require, at the property owner’s expense, the removal of any unauthorized improvements and restoration of Ameren Missouri land to a natural state.

This means that if you have invested in your landscaping inside of “Ameren’s Project Boundary”, Ameren can make you tear it out and plant in that area what they determine will restore that boundary to its natural state.  Whether they will or not is yet to be seen, but the order clearly says they can.

—  Removal and/or replacement of vegetative cover within Heads of Coves shall only occur in line with the Shoreline Management Plan’s policies on vegetative materials and only after Ameren Missouri review and approval of a vegetative management plan, which may include consultation with the state resource agencies and any appropriate federal agency.    Any unauthorized clearing of trees or vegetation or failure to restore trees and/or vegetation as outlined above may result in the immediate cancellation of the individual’s permit(s), as well as, possible legal action to require the revegetation of the affected area. Ameren Missouri may require residential and non-residential non-project use proposals to include vegetation protection and/or replacement plans where appropriate. Ameren Missouri reserves the right to suspend, revoke and/or limit other requested facilities (i.e., dock slips) for developments that violate the provisions of this policy.

 What is “unauthorized clearing of vegetation”?  Has there ever been any clear and definitive definition of a “head of cove”?  No.  Do you realize that potentially thousands of homes fall within the scope of homes in the heads of coves?  Be careful here, the ambiguity of this area could cost you big.  Before you do anything in your back yard that could be in the project boundary you better make sure you have full clarity on this one.  Clearly, Ameren has warned you that you face potential legal action and the revocation of your permits ….  even for your dock.  It is all there.  And, it is NOT what we have been used to as Ameren would have you believe if you have read the newspapers lately.  This, I can assure you, is a new policy. 

Be educated.  The devil is in the details of the new SMP,  just like this one. There are dozens.  It is NOT just about the 1200 homes that were ordered removed.  It is about transforming our lake retroactively into something that looks and sounds an awful like a Corp of Engineers Lake, and that is not what we are, nor have ever been.  We are unique. Our lake is unique; special for this reason.  We want to keep it that way.