Nixon stayed in dark about E. coli

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Aides for Gov. Jay Nixon knew about bacteria problems at the Lake of the Ozarks, but Missouri's chief executive apparently learned about the issue from the media two months later.

Information about E. coli at the lake trickled from the Department of the Natural Resources into the governor's office. At least one Cabinet member, two gubernatorial aides and Nixon's chief of staff knew something was up, but the governor did not.

It is an example of a widespread communication failure in Nixon's administration, or it's a possible example of plausible deniability, in which top officials are shielded from potentially damaging information.

The issue started in May when water samples were taken from the Lake of the Ozarks. Results from one of those tests was not released to the public until late June. Nixon apparently learned what was happening after reading a mid-July article in The Kansas City Star.

On May 18, the Department of Natural Resources tested water at two public beaches in the Lake of the Ozarks and discovered bacteria was high at one of them. On May 26, samples were taken elsewhere from the lake for a different water testing program funded by Ameren Corp.

When results came from the Ameren-funded testing, Nixon aide Jeff Mazur was told on May 29 about the E. coli. But that was where the information stayed.

Mazur said he didn't believe the information rose to the level of telling others in the governor's office.

"I didn't feel as though I had anything to share. I didn't have any numbers. I didn't have any paper. I didn't have any tangible results," Mazur said.

The E. coli issue re-entered Nixon's office June 23, but again it didn't reach the governor. During a regularly scheduled meeting with DNR leaders, Nixon chief of staff John Watson was told E. coli test results from a month earlier had not been released.

Watson said he told DNR to release the results but kept the information to himself.

In fact, Watson said he believes the first time Nixon learned about the E. coli tests was from The Star nearly a month later.

Only recently has Nixon taken action. In the past two weeks, Nixon traveled to the Lake of the Ozarks to announce a sweeping plan to improve water quality, admitted breakdowns in his own office and reprimanded the Department of Natural Resources director in front of reporters.

George Connor, the chairman of the political science department at Missouri State University, said it seems Nixon either was protected from damaging information or was trying not to micromanage and relied on aides who tripped up.

"It's kind of the perfect storm of miscommunication," Connor said. "It seems that everything that could go wrong -- in terms of the number of people that were involved in this and didn't say anything and the governor's reaction that we're going to clean up the lake more -- really has pushed them into a corner."