DNR aids Nixon investigation into dam collapse

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources sent documents to Attorney General Jay Nixon late Wednesday to help his investigation into the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse.

DNR deputy director Kurt Schaefer said the reports might help shed light on what caused AmerenUE's reservoir to collapse Dec. 14, sending about 1 billion gallons of water rushing through Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park and injuring a family of five.

Nixon was conducting an investigation into the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse before Gov. Blunt asked him to do so Monday, said his spokesman, Scott Holste.

Blunt's request sparked a disagreement between his office and Nixon's, with the two sides debating who should control the process.

At the center of the flap is a wealth of information compiled by Department of Natural Resources investigators, who uncovered evidence that there might have been problems at AmerenUE's reservoir long before it collapsed.

Schaefer said he, director Doyle Childers and others arranged to meet with Nixon's office Tuesday, but were left waiting in a Jefferson City conference room when Nixon didn't attend.

Holste said Nixon had no obligation to attend the meeting.

"As the law enforcement agency that's handling this matter, we're going to need to interview relevant witnesses and that's going to happen in the order that we choose to do," he said.

Holste said Nixon was waiting Wednesday for the DNR to provide him with the final report on its internal investigation. At that time, Nixon will decide whom in the DNR he needs to talk to, Holste said.

At the same time, the collapse is being investigated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The federal agency regulated the reservoir before it collapsed.

Gov. Blunt sent a letter to FERC Chairman Joseph T. Kelliher Tuesday saying the agency needed to investigate whether it did a proper job when it inspected the dam annually.

"I am deeply disturbed by the shocking lack of oversight on the part of both AmerenUE and FERC," Blunt said in a statement. "This disaster put lives at risk and could have been significantly worse had it occurred in the summer with a park full of campers. I expect nothing less than the full and immediate cooperation from the federal government to give Missourians the answers they deserve."

FERC spokesman Bryan Lee defended the agency's investigation.

"We fully appreciate the governor's concerns," Lee wrote in an e-mail. "We have an ongoing investigation that will exhaustively consider all potential contributors to last month's dam breach."

AmerenUE officials said they were surprised that Blunt ordered Nixon to investigate the company because it has assumed responsibility for the accident.

AmerenUE officials theorize the reservoir failed after water flowed over the top during the night, eroding the outside wall and causing it to buckle.

DNR inspectors found evidence that water had flowed over the top prior to the night of the failure, DNR spokeswoman Connie Patterson said. Internal AmerenUE e-mails indicate that plant managers were aware of the overflow in September.

The reservoir is part of a hydroelectric plant near Lesterville, Mo. Water was pumped to the top of the mountaintop reservoir at night and drained during the day for electricity.