By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Someone with the last name of "Nixon" ought to know a cover-up can often be worse than the crime itself.

Which brings us to Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon.

A state Senate committee is investigating the Department of Natural Resources' unconscionable decision earlier this year to refuse to release information showing dangerous levels of E-coli at the Lake of the Ozarks -- ostensibly to protect the economic fortunes of businesses near the lake.

The DNR is essentially stonewalling the committee's investigation, as The Star reported Friday morning.

Which is where Nixon comes in: He's the boss of DNR director Mark Templeton, whom the governor appointed earlier this year despite Templeton's feeble background in environmental issues.

Templeton needs to work out whatever issues he has with the Senate committee, and fast.

As The Star has already reported, top DNR officials were involved in making sure the data about the E-coli problems did not get out to the public in late May.

The Senate committee needs to find out why that decision was made.

One of those concerns: What did Nixon know about the problem and when? He's claimed he didn't have an inkling of the failure to release the information.

But with a Nixon underling refusing to make sure DNR gets information to the Senate committee, it appears some kind of cover-up is being attempted.