Mo. DNR Chief: No Risk From Delayed E. Coli Report

CHRIS BLANK

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The suspended chief of Missouri's environmental agency said there was no immediate public health risk when E. coli test results from the Lake of the Ozarks weren't released for nearly a month.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources took water samples from the popular mid-Missouri tourist lake on May 26. Those tests showed high E. coli levels in numerous parts of the lake, but the state agency didn't release those results until late June.

DNR Director Mark Templeton told investigators for a Senate environment committee reviewing the delay that he doesn't believe public health was endangered. That's because he said the bacteria die in lake water within about four days, and he wasn't aware of the high test results until June 3 — eight days after the tests.

"This was not designed as a real time public health monitoring study. This was designed as a long-term scientific study," Templeton said.

Senate investigators interviewed Templeton on Sept. 30 — shortly after Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon announced that the director had been suspended for two weeks without pay. The transcript was released Tuesday.