Southeast Missouri - Elected officials from several counties have banded together to support the much needed electricity rate reduction that Noranda Aluminum plant has requested from Ameren Missouri.

A letter to the Public Service Commission signed by elected officials in several counties was emailed to the ShowMe Times.  The letter is dated June 9, 2014 and is as follows:

-Elected County Officials of New Madrid, Dunklin, Pemiscot, Stoddard, Scott & Butler Counties

Public Service Commission

200 Madison Street

P.O. Box 360

Jefferson City, MO 65102-0360 

RE:  Closure of Noranda Aluminum Due to Increased Electric Rates

Dear Commissioners:

We, the Elected County Officials of New Madrid, Dunklin, Pemiscot, Stoddard, & Butler Counties, write you today as a collective group to express our extreme concern for the economic well-being of our communities should the unthinkable event of the closure of Noranda Aluminum occur due to increased electric rates charged by Ameren Missouri.

As it is certainly understandable that a company such as Noranda could not survive an increase of $44 million over the six years for a single overhead item such as electricity, we support the rate reduction requested by Noranda.  We respect the heavy burden this decision places upon you as Public Service Commissioners and request that you consider the disastrous effects to our region that the closure of Noranda will cause in your deliberations. 

What we can say with certainty is the dire economic ramifications that the closure of Noranda Aluminum would have on our region.  Noranda is not simply the foundation for the economy of New Madrid County; it is in many ways the bedrock to multiple sectors of the economy for this entire region. 

The loss of 900 high paying jobs with substantial benefits will cause irreparable cascading damage to many business sectors that rely on both serving as vendors for the supply and maintenance of he smelter as well as those businesses that rely on the patronage of those employees of Noranda.

It is difficult to conceive of a business sector that will not be devastated by the loss of these 900 high paying jobs with substantial benefits.  The housing market will plummet in all counties, with the epicenter falling in New Madrid and cascading across the surrounding counties.  The construction industry, including hardware supply stores, carpenters, plumbers, and electricians, will suffer as 900 fewer high paying jobs means far less new home construction in the region.

The banking industry will suffer crushing numbers of defaults and home foreclosures when these 900 families suddenly face the grim reality of having far less or no income to pay their notes.  The list goes on and on….

The citizens of this region are a proud, resilient people.  They pride themselves on working hard and being self-sufficient and self-sustaining.  The sad reality of this situation is that should Noranda shutter its doors, no matter how determined the people are, we will not recover.  This area and is its proud history will be forever damaged and its people forever injured.  The socio-economic fabric of this region will never be the same.

Therefore, we the Elected Officials of New Madrid, Dunklin, Pemiscot, Stoddard, & Butler Counties implore you in your deliberations to consider the citizens of our counties and the drastic effect your decision will have on each an every one of their lives.

To preserve our regional economy and way of life, we respectfully request that you grant Noranda Aluminum their request rate reduction.

                       RESPECTFULLY,

                       The Elected County Officials of New Madrid,

                       Dunklin, Stoddard, Scott, Pemiscot & Butler

Please note the letter is signed by every elected county official in the Bootheel (56 signatures) from New Madrid, Dunklin, Pemiscot, Stoddard, & Butler counties.  There are only two elected officials who were unavailable at the meeting to sign either due to illness or being out of town.