Page 12 - ES&G report 2021 final

EnvironmentalWater EnvironmentalLand

Associated Electric built Thomas Hill Lake to provide cooling water for our members’ power plant. The lake also
provides recreation for the community and habitat for wildlife. Associated Electric works with the Missouri Department
of Conservation, which manages the lake for fishing and wildlife habitat.

Associated uses water to generate electricity The cooperative has restored thousands of acres of once-mined land to productive pasture, forests and wetlands
and received national awards for its “exemplary reclamation,” which exceeds the state’s bond release requirements
in terms of revegetation and post-mining land use.
Associated has won national recognition for its innovative water practices, care of resources
and improved water quality.
Land stewardship protects habitats and wildlife
One of Associated Electric’s largest generating units can use about 330,000 gallons of water per minute on
a hot day, returning 99% of that water to the source after its use. That water is returned in as clean or better Associated was nationally recognized by the U.S. Department of Interior for innovative and successful mine
condition than when it was withdrawn from the river or lake. reclamation and restoration of the Bee Veer Mine near Macon, Missouri, twice earning their prestigious surface

Water is a vital resource for power plant operations and Associated is committed to ensuring the quality of the mining award.
water we use. At all of our plants, Associated fully complies with the Clean Water Act, which requires water The cooperative partners with the Missouri Department of Conservation to manage its acreage and lake at
and discharge permits, and Effluent Limitation Guidelines, which regulates the use and discharge of water in Thomas Hill Energy Center for fisheries and wildlife, including quarterly lake management meetings.
industrial and commercial facilities.

Primarily a cooling source, water used for generating electricity for our members comes from the Mississippi Member cooperatives have long partnered to protect habitat and species while ensur-
River; groundwater wells; purchased water supplies; and the Thomas Hill Lake, which we built for our power ing reliable electricity for members. Missouri cooperatives received the Conservation
plant. Federation of Missouri’s esteemed Conservation Organization of the Year award in

From a portion of the water, we remove corrosive minerals that could damage equipment. This purified water 2017 for their work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on an agreement to protect
runs through a closed loop of boiler tubes and is used to make steam that turns turbines, which then turn endangered species.
the generator to produce electricity. But the bulk of the water is used to cool and condense that steam, and
then returned to the source. This water, as well as all water that travels from Associated Electric’s plants and
grounds, receives ongoing monitoring to ensure its quality and compliance with environmental regulations.

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