Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Missouri bill protecting rural neighbors from meatpacking sludge clears legislature
Meatpacking sludge storage lagoons that have drawn the ire of rural neighbors because of their foul stench would face stricter state regulations under legislation that cleared a final vote in the Missouri House Thursday. The Missouri House voted 155-1 to require the facilities to obtain water pollution permits, be set back from nearby homes, follow […]
Missouri bill would slash state regulations over small streams and major aquifers
Missouri’s leading agriculture groups are pushing legislation environmentalists and state regulators warn could jeopardize thousands of miles of streams and drinking water for 3.6 million people. Members of a Missouri Senate committee on Tuesday heard testimony on a bill that would narrow the definition of “waters of the state,” slashing the state’s authority over small […]
Missouri House bill takes aim at ‘cesspool’ of meatpacking sludge
Between Vallerie Steele, her seven siblings and their children, there’s always a birthday or anniversary to celebrate on the family’s southwest Missouri farm. The summer months are typically a parade of pool parties and barbecues. Until last year. The stench coming from the lagoon across the road from Steele’s home has become unbearable. It holds […]
Missouri meatpacker that sought to dump wastewater into river will shut down
A southwest Missouri meatpacking plant that sought to dump treated wastewater into an impaired river will halt operations — at least temporarily. Missouri Prime Beef Packers will shutter its Pleasant Hope facility, which processes 3,500 cattle per week, April 26. It’s not clear whether the closure will be temporary or permanent. The closure, disclosed in […]
Missouri House bill would allow further testing for St. Louis radioactive waste
Local governments in the St. Louis area could request radioactive waste testing from the state under a Missouri House bill that would appropriate money to a long-unfunded program. The Missouri House Conservation and Natural Resources Committee on Monday heard testimony on a bill that would transfer $300,000 to a radioactive waste investigations fund created six […]
Lawmakers hope to block Missouri water from being exported to other states
As climate change and groundwater pumping leave arid western states hurting for water, Missouri lawmakers are considering legislation to keep the state’s water from being shipped outside its borders. “You may hear about states like California and Kansas in the news having water shortages,” said state Sen. Jason Bean, a Republican from Holcomb. “We don’t […]
Meatpacker withdraws request to dump wastewater into Pomme de Terre River
A southwest Missouri meatpacker has withdrawn its request to discharge treated wastewater into an impaired river after state regulators announced their intent to deny the company a permit. Missouri Prime Beef Packers, which processes 3,500 cattle per week near Pleasant Hope, sought permission from the state last year to use a proprietary microbe technology to […]
Missouri may deny meatpacker’s request to dump wastewater in river
State regulators are poised to deny a request from a southwest Missouri meatpacker to discharge treated wastewater directly into a river already impaired by E. coli. Missouri Prime Beef Packers requested permission from the state to treat wastewater from its meatpacking operation near Pleasant Hope using a proprietary microbe technology and discharge it directly into […]
Weldon Spring uranium plant contaminated Missouri lakes with radioactive waste
Steve Allen and Eric Singsaas grew up hunting and fishing in August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area and swimming in quarries along the Missouri River in St. Charles County, never knowing they were playing near nuclear waste. “Everything we did,” Allen said in an interview, “we did together.” Allen said he and Singsaas even attended […]
Proposed Missouri silica sand mine loses appeal of its denied permit
A plan to build a silica mine in southeast Missouri suffered yet another setback on Tuesday when an appeals court ruled state regulators were within their authority to deny the project a permit. The Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District sided with the Missouri Mining Commission, which denied NexGen Silica a permit in […]
Judge bars Missouri from moving ahead on Randolph County waste lagoon permit
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is barred from moving forward with a permit for an animal waste lagoon north of Columbia following a judge’s ruling Thursday. Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green issued a writ of prohibition in a case Randolph County residents filed against the state. The department can’t take further action without […]
Southwest Missouri river’s listing as polluted may set up fight over meatpacker permit
The Pomme de Terre River’s status as an impaired waterway is poised to set up a fight between environmentalists and a meatpacking plant in Southwest Missouri. Missouri Prime Beef Packers has requested permission from the state to discharge treated wastewater from its facility near Pleasant Hope directly into the river. It currently applies the water […]