Sludge
SLUDGE plans fundraiser, informational opportunity
With Denali Water Solutions’ operations on hiatus, Vallerie Steele, spokesperson for the citizens group SLUDGE (Stop Land Use Damaging our Ground and Environment), fears that residents are forgetting the unpleasantries and hazards connected with the land-application of meat-processing waste. To bring the issue back to forefront of residents' minds, SLUDGE is hosting a fish-fry fundraiser and informational session on Saturday at 6 p.m. at H & H Pool Hall in Cassville.
Governor to visit Pineville for signing of ‘Sludge Bill’
Gov. Mike Parson will be at the Pineville Community Center in McDonald County on Aug.
‘Sludge Bill’ now law, may nix some basins
Gov. Mike Parson signed House Bill 2134/1956 — the Sludge Bill — into law on July 9, effectively closing a loophole that once allowed meat-processing sludge to be land-applied under a permit from the Missouri Fertilizer Control Board.
Bird flu: Not just for the birds
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or “bird flu,” is on the move in dairy herds across the United States, and while scientists seemed baffled by the means of the H5N1 virus’ initial leap from poultry to a herd of Texas dairy cattle in March, poultry-industry insider William Wymore, of Owensville, believes its transmission can be easily explained. The storage and land-application of poultry and meat-processing sludge is facilitating the spread of bird flu, he alleges.
Size matters in passed bill
When it comes to pending new regulations for waste-storage basins and tanks, size will make a difference. Earthen basins the size of Denali Water Solutions’ Evans and Gideon lagoons, in Newton and McDonald Counties — which each have a storage capacity of about 15 million gallons — could be subject to tighter regulations if proposed legislation is signed into law by Governor Parson.
New rules, more sludge according to EPA environmental assessment
EPA environmental assessment: changes may triple amount of waste New effluent guidelines proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for wastewater discharge from meat and poultry-processing (MPP) facilities could result in as much as 1.2 million more tons of residual sludge, per year, according to an EPA Environmental Assessment (EA). The proposed new guidelines (released in December) are designed to offer additional protections to surface water and, thereby, public drinking water systems that source water from surface features.
Free sludge appeals to some local landowners
A handful of Barry and Newton County landowners traveled to Jefferson City to testify in support of the land application of Denali Water Solutions’ industrial-processing sludge at a Missouri Senate hearing on March 26. Their testimony, along with that of Denali executive Rob Currey, was an attempt to convince senators to vote against proposed legislation that will more tightly regulate the storage and land-application of meat and other food-processing waste.
DNR to host land application info meeting
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Water Protection Program will hold a public informational meeting on April 11 from 10 a.m. to noon regarding permitting of the land application of industrial wastewater and wastewater treatment residuals.
DNR public comments due March 18
Public comments on proposed permits for the land-application of sludge to over 8,400 acres of land in Barry County are due to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) by 5 p.m., Monday, March 18.
SLUDGE fund grows
State Rep. Dirk Deaton, R-Noel, and State Sen. Jill Carter, R-Granby, spoke to a group of some 100 people who attended an event to raise money for legal fees for SLUDGE, LLC, at East Newton High School, Feb. 24.
