Proposal aims to provide clarity, consistency with Missouri Clean Water Law

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is one step closer to issuing new permits to companies that land-apply wastewater and food and meat-processing residuals to farmland across southwest Missouri and elsewhere in the state.

The land-application practice hit a speed bump for some companies after Missouri House and Senate Bill 2134/1956 was passed through an emergency clause in July 2024. The bill established legal requirements for a Nutrient Management Plan, regular soil-sampling, and content-sampling and mandated setback distances for open storage lagoons with a capacity of more than 2.5 million gallons.

While some companies with existing permits were allowed to continue operating under “enforcement discretion” from the DNR, companies applying for new permits, and those who have fallen from grace with the DNR for past violations, are waiting for new permit language to be perfected that would be consistent with the recent revisions in the Missouri Clean Water Law.

Language for the proposed amendment to rules for land-application of wastewater and processing waste residuals is open for public comment through Sept. 23. The language, when approved, will pave the way for permits to be issued to no-discharge operations: companies that do not discharge wastewater from a single established location (such as a municipal wastewater facility), but distribute wastewater or processing residuals across a diffuse area on multiple sites, typically by land-application.

According to DNR’s Regulatory Impact Report (RIR), the department’s proposed amendment to the rules includes revisions in language to provide clarity, and to provide consistency with the Missouri Clean Water Law (sections 644.016, 644.041, and 644.051, RSMo).

The DNR’s report states that the land-application treatment methodology must provide a benefit to soils, vegetation or a specific agricultural commodity, without being detrimental to the environment and to livestock and human health.

What: DNR closer to issuing new permits for land-applying wastewater and food and meat-processing residuals Proposal: Revisions in language to provide clarity, and to provide consistency with the Missouri Clean Water Law More: Comment period open through Sept. 23 The general public and those who wish to land apply industrial wastewater or industrial wastewater treatment residuals can both be affected by the changes in the rules.

According to the RIR, the proposed rule amendment potentially affects 117 facilities currently holding a Missouri State Operating Permit for land-application of industrial wastewater or industrial wastewater treatment residuals as a part of a treatment process. These 117 facilities consist of 89 facilities holding a general permit (for land-application at more than one site) and 28 facilities holding site-specific permits.

While industry representatives voiced concerns about increased transportation costs with the proposed new requirements, the DNR did not include those additional costs in its RIR, because a couple of the companies (Bub’s, Incorporated and Denali Water Solutions) source the majority of their waste materials from outside of Missouri.

According to a July 2023 DNR no-discharge list for land-application process wastes, Denali sourced materials from 99 locations — 66 from out of state. Only one of Bub’s Incorporated’s waste-residual sources is within Missouri.

According to the DNR’s report, while industrial wastewater and wastewater treatment residuals can contain vital plant and soil nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, when nutrients are applied to fields in excess, the potential for nutrient runoff increases. The runoff, the report states, has the potential to enter Waters of the State and cause eutrophication, the process in which excess nutrients enter a waterbody and cause increased algae and plant growth. Eutrophic events include the potential for causing harmful algal blooms and cyanotoxins that can negatively impact water recreational activities, aquatic life and human health.

Eutrophication can affect the clarity of surface water, including lakes and rivers, which in turn can affect nearby property values. When beaches are closed due to eutrophication, closures can negatively impact the recreational opportunities that support the tourism industry, the Regulatory Impact Report states.

The presence of perand polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in soil and drinking water has become a growing concern for residents across the nation, including many in southwest Missouri. However, the DNR is opting not to regulate the substances, “since PFAS are not included in the text of the law,” states the impact report.

“As [PFAS] is a compound for which the regulations, safety thresholds, chemistry, and toxicity are still emerging, the department opted to defer PFAS regulations at this time, until the science and federal regulations are more thoroughly documented and established,” the report states.

A draft of the Industrial Nutrient Management Technical Standard (INMTS) and the detailed Regulatory Impact Report (RIR) can be found at https:// apps5. mo. gov/ pro posed-rules/welcome. action#OPEN.

A public hearing for the proposed rule amendment is scheduled for Sept. 16 at 1 pm. at the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Lewis and Clark State Office Building, LaCharrette/ Nightingale Creek Conference Rooms, 1101 Riverside Drive, Jefferson City, MO. A virtual attendance option is also offered. Information can be found on the department’s Clean Water Rulemaking page: Clean Water Rulemaking | Missouri Department of Natural Resources. People may check the ‘Ongoing Discussions’ tab for updated information.

Comments on the proposed amendments may be made by using the department’s Regulatory Action Tracking System, at https:// apps5. mo. gov/ pro posed-rules/welcome. action#OPEN Choose ‘Water Protection Program’ under “Rules in Development.”

Comments will also be accepted during the public hearing.

Comments may also be mailed to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Water Protection Program, ATTN: Susan Mills, P.O. Box 176, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0176. Contact information in all comments should include your name, email address, and phone number.

Any questions may be directed to Susan Mills by email at susan.mills@dnr.mo.gov or by phone at 573-526-1386.