We have a partial update on where things are heading. Multiple sources are telling us that the E. coli story starts with Lynn Griswold, who is being accused of developing condos by the Lake of the Ozarks without proper sewage treatment facilities.
Lynn Griswold owns two companies, Lynn and Peggy Griswold (LPG) Contracting and LPG Properties, that have property and financial interests in the area surrounding the Lake of the Ozarks. Lynn is wealthy, and he's a big Democrat donor: he and his wife have contributed $39,500 to Democrat state committees and $27,085 to Democrat candidates.
He also lives right off the Lake of the Ozarks, as shown in this picture:
Lynn has been involved in a long legal battle over the release of sewage at the Lake of the Ozarks. Untreated sewage can contaminate lakes with E. coli, a problem that can be aggravated by run-off from high rain levels, like there were before the E. coli tests in May.
Lynn's company, LPG Contracting, was responsible for building and maintaining a wastewater treatment facility for Westside Bay Condominiums. The State of Missouri is alleging that they built the condos without adequate sewage treatment facilities, and in doing so they have repeatedly and knowingly violated the Missouri Clean Water Law by allowing sewage to contaminate the Lake of the Ozarks.
The State of Missouri contends:
-A 2003 investigation found that Westside Bay was illegally pumping wastewater to Lakeview Beach Resort's treatment plant, "causing overloading to occur." They were told to stop - but kept on doing it, even after the DNR and Lakeview Beach told them to.
-Investigations in 2004 found that they were illegally using an incomplete wastewater treatment facility as a sewage holding tank, and that it had released sewage into the Lake of the Ozarks.
The State of Missouri is trying to impose a civil penalty of $10,000 per violation per day. A notice of violation was served on 10/15/2004, and as of 11/3/2008, they claimed the violations are ongoing. The financial liability could be enormous.
It’s hard to be certain how this (let alone any) lawsuit will turn out. But it does supply a compelling motive as to why a wealthy Democrat donor might not want the public to know about E. coli levels in the Lake of the Ozarks.
We'll have more on this story shortly.
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