By AP/KWMU
St. Louis – The Missouri Department of Natural Resources will use an outside law firm to help settle its case against Ameren Corporation over the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse.
DNR Director Doyle Childers says his agency can't trust Attorney General Jay Nixon, who is running for governor.
Nixon returned more than $19,000 in campaign contributions that originated with Ameren.
Nixon spokesman Scott Holste criticized DNR's decision, saying it will only waste taxpayer money.
The mountaintop reservoir collapsed in December, sending more than a billion gallons of water rushing through Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park.
A civil settlement for damage is likely worth millions of dollars.