Missouri landowners call on lawmakers to address spread of meatpacking sludge (2024)

JEFFERSON CITY — Companies that collect waste from meatpacking facilities and spread it as free fertilizer on Missouri farmland should be tightly regulated as a way to avoid potential environmental disasters, rural residents told state lawmakers Monday.

In a hearing of the House Conservation and Natural Resources Committee, residents and local officials blasted the controversial practice, which has stirred complaints about strong smells and possible leaks into the state’s waterways.

Valerie Steele, who farms in McDonald County, said children at nearby schools have begged to stay inside at recess because of the smell.

She said a storage lagoon near her house includes pieces of flesh, beaks and feathers.

“It is rancid. When I tell you it’s an odor, that’s an understatement,” Steele said. “We don’t have family gatherings outside our homes. We are living next to a cesspool of rotting meat.”

Sharon Turner, of Jacksonville, said an unused storage lagoon near her home in Randolph County is less than a mile from her home. She worries the company that helped build it will be allowed to begin using it.

“I’m most concerned about the contents of the sludge,” Turner said. “It’s a dangerous situation. We are poisoning our land.”

The panel heard testimony on two bills introduced by Republican lawmakers who represent areas that have been affected by the waste operations.

Rep. Dirk Deaton, R-Noel, wants to close what he sees as a loophole that could allow a company to be exempted from needing a permit from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources if it is licensed by the state’s fertilizer board.

Deaton represents residents in Newton and McDonald counties in southwest Missouri who are angry about the smells and possible risks of having meatpacking sludge applied to lands around their homes.

Rep. Ed Lewis, R-Moberly, wants more testing and sampling of the material by DNR. He represents residents who have been fighting the storage of the waste in a large lagoon in Randolph County.

“It’s clear that we’ve got a real problem going on here,” Deaton said. “I don’t know what this material is.”

In Lewis’ district, Arkansas-based Denali Water Solutions built a 15-million-gallon lagoon in Randolph County to store the waste before it is applied to land.

Residents revolted when they learned of the plan and were successful in stopping use of the basin through a judge’s order.

“This is important to the members of my district,” Lewis said. “You have no idea what’s in that waste. We want to close that loophole.”

“There is definitely a hole in our system,” said Rep. Don Mayhew, R-Crocker.

The hearing came as local residents have sued to halt the operation of companies like Denali.

Denali contends it is exempt from state fertilizer laws because it doesn’t sell its waste products, which it collects in tanker trucks from companies that process beef, pork chicken and turkey.

Denali lobbyist James Harris said the company has spread millions of gallons of material it collects on an estimated 20,000 acres in Missouri. He said the company does not spread hazardous material.

“My client is repurposing material from the meatpackers,” Harris said. “We don’t think there is a water contamination problem.”

The committee did not take a vote on the measure, which is still under negotiation.

Sen. Jill Carter, R-Granby, also introduced a plan designed to strengthen the permitting process, potentially making it harder for companies to collect the material from meatpackers unless it is tested and deemed safe for spreading.