Reports: Nixon staffer told of E. coli problem

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- An aide to Gov. Jay Nixon was told about high E. coli levels at the Lake of the Ozarks long before Nixon's office has said it became aware of the problem, a former state official told Senate investigators.

A former Department of Natural Resources official told Senate investigators she informed Nixon aide Jeff Mazur about the E. coli results May 29 -- the day after the state agency got the test results, The Kansas City Star and Springfield News-Leader reported Thursday on their websites.

Nixon's staff has said previously the governor's office was not aware of the E. coli problem until June 23. The results were not released to the public until June 26, when lower E. coli levels from later tests also were reported.

The newspapers said they used open-records requests to obtain transcripts of a Senate interview conducted Tuesday with former DNR spokeswoman Susanne Medley. She told Senate investigators that she informed Mazur during a May 29 phone conversation that the "results appear high" and DNR staff would meet the following Monday to learn more. She promised to update Mazur afterward.

Medley also gave Mazur "periodic updates," the interview transcript says, before raising the issue again in a meeting with him on June 18. She expressed frustration that department staff had failed to provide requested context about the testing program and the impact of spring rainfall, which she wanted to have before releasing the information to the public.

Medley told Senate investigators she called Mazur because all major news releases were to be run through him.

Medley left the department last week for unexplained reasons. She did not immediately return a telephone call Thursday from The Associated Press.

Nixon's office provided no immediate comment Thursday.

Nixon spokesman Jack Cardetti said previously that the governor's office did not become aware of the results until June 23, when the department was told to release the information quickly.

Former department director Joe Bindbeutel has taken the blame for not releasing the E. coli results sooner. He told The Star previously that he met with the governor's office three times in June but didn't raise the E. coli issue until the final meeting on June 23.

Bindbeutel left the department at the end of June, when Nixon appointed him to the Administrative Hearing Commission, which resolves disputes involving state agencies.

The Senate environment committee is examining the department's handling of the E. coli test results to determine why they were not released sooner and whether changes are needed in state law.

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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com

Information from: Springfield News-Leader, http://www.news-leader.com