Columbia, Boone County get stormwater permit approval after targeting homeless camp waste

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has issued stormwater discharge permits to the City of Columbia and Boone County, the department said Monday -- a move that will allow the local governments to avoid state sanctions.

DNR has been reviewing the city and county permits to discharge stormwater into the environment for months, with state officials bringing up concerns about homeless camps near Hinkson Creek multiple times,

"Prior to receiving the co-permittees’ permit application, the department fielded approximately 30 citizen concerns regarding potential pollutants entering waters of the state from illegal dumping at large encampment sites in the Columbia MS4 service area," DNR stated in a news release Monday.

State and federal authorities require the permit, known as MS4, to release stormwater into streams. Without a permit, the city could face high fines for dumping that stormwater.

After the county modified its ordinance on March 30, the city did so on July 2, barring the dumping of waste from encampments into bodies of water. DNR required those changes before it would issue the permit, which took effect Saturday.

“Waste created by local encampments has had a direct and significant environmental impact on Columbia area waterways,” said Kurt Schaefer, director of the Department of Natural Resources. “We believed it was important for the co-permittees to add specific language to their ordinances that, if enforced, would effectively address those issues and allow the department to hold them accountable.”

No data has been publicly released detailing the pollution homeless camps cause in Columbia streams.

Some Columbia City Council members shared concerns when the ordinance was voted on that it unfairly targets homeless people.