Cole County judge puts hold on Randolph County animal waste lagoon
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
A judge has barred the Missouri Department of Natural Resources from issuing a permit for a Randolph County animal waste lagoon, for now.
Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green on Thursday issued a writ of prohibition telling the department to hold off on giving a permit to Denali Water Solutions, LLC. Denali has built an earthen basin in anticipation of making it a lagoon for animal and food waste.
Denali Water Solutions collects meat, dairy, food, and pet food products from Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Tennessee. The company has asked DNR for a permit to dump that waste into the basin and apply the material as soil. The basin can hold up to 15 million gallons.
Citizens of Randolph County Against Pollution -- or CRAP --sued to block DNR from issuing the permit, leading to Green's order. The writ places the permit on hold at least until the state can respond to CRAP allegations in a legal filing.
The lawsuit was filed just a few days after a meeting in late August to get public input on the project.
They argue the lagoon will reduce property value, produce a foul odor, spread disease to nearby wildlife, is located close to children, could create road hazards and does not bring in any jobs to the community.
Denali has six previous violations of the Missouri Clean Water Law, according to DNR.
In CRAP's filing seeking the writ, the organization's lawyer Stephen Jeffery wrote that the DNR was applying the wrong standard to the lagoon and it should be treated as a solid waste processing facility.
The state has until Oct. 20 to file a response. A hearing to review the case is scheduled for Sept. 25.
A voice mailbox at Denali's corporate office in Russellville, Arkansas, did not allow an ABC 17 News reporter to leave a message when reached Friday.
A significant number of comments were submitted to the DNR resulting in them holding a public hearing at their Macon regional office where they received even more comments
"Before DNR can issue a final permit they are required to go through and respond to each and every one of those public comments," attorney Steve Jeffery, who is handling the lawsuit, told ABC 17 News.
Jeffery estimates it’s going to take the department multiple weeks to go through all those comments before they can issue a final permit.
To have a solid waste facility in Missouri, the DNR has to issue a construction permit and operating permit. the only exception is if a facility receives a permit through DNR’s water protection program.
"If a facility wants to obtain a solid waste processing facility permit that is a very long process that it takes someone," Jeffery said.
