DNR chief says he met with feds over Taum Sauk

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The head of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources confirmed Friday that he has met with federal prosecutors and the Environmental Protection Agency, who asked him to provide information for a criminal investigation into the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse.

DNR director Doyle Childers said he attended a meeting June 25 with Federal prosecutor Catherine Hanaway, who questioned Childers and other DNR officials about the conduct of Ameren Corp., the St. Louis-based utility that operates the mountaintop reservoir that breached in December 2005.

Childers said Hanaway's office requested the meeting, which took place at the DNR headquarters and was attended by several attorneys and officials. He said the meeting was to provide information for a criminal investigation being conducted by Hanaway's office and the EPA.

Former DNR deputy director Kurt Schaefer said he also attended the meeting, although he would not discuss what was said. Schaefer, who left the DNR late last month to take a job with a law firm, said Hanaway was joined by Michael Reap, one of her top assistants who oversees the criminal and civil divisions.

Schaefer said attorney Anne Rauch attended via telephone and represented the EPA's criminal investigative unit. An EPA official declined to comment.

Hanaway spokeswoman Jan Diltz said Hanaway would not elaborate beyond comments she made last month when she said she had been briefed on the matter by the DNR, Attorney General Jay Nixon's office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

On June 15, the EPA's criminal investigation unit obtained a copy of the patrol report on the reservoir collapse. Neither Hanaway's office nor the EPA officially confirms that a criminal investigation is under way.

Ameren spokesman Mike Cleary said the company has not been contacted by any federal investigators and wasn't aware of the meeting or any criminal investigation into the reservoir breach.

"It's the most investigated event in Missouri history," Cleary said. "We've cooperated with all the investigations and we just feel like it's time to move on and look into the future."

Meanwhile Friday, the Missouri Public Service Commission continued a hearing into the reservoir failure that sent 1.3 billion gallons of water rushing over Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, injuring a family of five. Some areas of the park remain closed.

PSC commissioner Steve Gaw questioned Ameren employee Steve Schoolcraft, who works in Ameren's energy trading division. Schoolcraft said he delayed repairs at Taum Sauk before the collapse because an engineer at the plant never told him the repairs were crucial or presented a safety issue.