LAKE OZARK, Mo. -- There may be trouble for property owners along the shores of Lake of the Ozarks. A federal agency says thousands of lakeside structures are overstepping a boundary line.
Ameren Missouri operates the hydroelectric plant at Bagnell Dam, and also manages the shoreline of Lake of the Ozarks. The lake is a federal project, however, and Ameren answers to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC. New orders from FERC aren't sitting well with folks at the lake.
As Ameren Missouri seeks a new 40-year license to operate Bagnell Dam, the federal government has concerns about its shoreline management -- around 4,000 concerns. That's the approximate number of structures overstepping the project boundary.
"There's a good number of folks out there that have no idea that they have a structure within our project boundary, and there's a good number that do," said Jeff Green, Ameren Missouri's shoreline manager.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission wants to ban any structures -- like homes, decks, gazebos or sidewalks -- along a thin strip of land at the lake's shoreline.
"I think, over time, there are even deeds that have been misrepresented, and folks perhaps built some things without surveys, perhaps even occasionally built some things without permits or didn't even know they needed a permit," said Green.
