SLUDGE meeting updates residents on status of legislation, lawsuits

Feb. 26—GRANBY, Mo. — Legislation regulating the disposal of waste from food processors and others being offered as fertilizer is moving forward in the Missouri House. At the same time, legal action is continuing on both sides of the issue, with lawsuits having been filed by a company spreading the waste fertilizer as well as a local group opposed to the practice.

Stop Land Use Damaging our Ground and Environment — or SLUDGE — held a combination fundraiser and informational meeting on Saturday at East Newton High School.

Group leader Vallerie Steele said about 100 people attended to get an update on the issue, and she called the meeting a success. It is the latest in a number of meetings held over the last year organized by residents worried that the practice of spreading the waste threatens their health and lifestyle, their ground and surface water, and their property values.

"You always want people showing up that want to hear about the topic, and I felt like we had a lot of good education and people covering a lot of ground from legislation to things that go into the sludge," Steele said.

The group heard from several speakers, including Newton County farmer Adam Periman, McDonald County Presiding Commissioner Bryan Hall, Rep. Dirk Deaton and Sen. Jill Carter.

Periman talked about farming without using the waste sludge/fertilizer spread by companies such as Denali Water Solutions, which also built two wastewater basins in southern Newton County and northern McDonald County to store the material before it is spread.

Denali was cited by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources in October 2023 for improperly applying waste from these basins to land in McDonald County that was saturated by previous rainstorms with more storms on the way, running the risk of polluting a tributary of the Elk River, which runs into Grand Lake in Oklahoma.

Denali has applied to operate these basins and and a third, slightly smaller basin in Macon County in northern Missouri as permitted wastewater treatment facilities, but the DNR said that permit process in on hold while it awaits the actions of the Legislature and the results of pending lawsuits.

Hall, with the McDonald County Commission, said complaint calls about odors from the sludge basins and from the application of the sludge have almost stopped since the DNR issued an order in November 2023 ordering Denali to stop applying its product in Missouri. That order was followed by a consent agreement issued Jan. 31 in which Denali agreed to pump out the basins in question. The state's order called for 150,000 gallons a week to be pumped from the basins and taken out of state or to licensed wastewater treatment facilities. The basins in McDonald and Newton counties hold around 14 million gallons of wastewater.

Denali response

Denali said previously through spokesman Samuel Liebl that more than 100 Missouri farmers rely on its product, and dozens of Missouri food manufacturers employing more than 10,000 Missouri workers depend on the services to continue their current business operations.

"Without the ability for Denali to operate, these Missouri companies will face extremely challenging and costly decisions," the company said.

Denali, based in Russellville, Arkansas, has defended its operations in Missouri, denying they are causing any harm.

In another statement issued Monday, Denali said it continues to work with the Missouri DNR to implement the January agreement with the agency concerning the storage basins.

"We have begun hauling the food processing residuals stored in the basins, and we are delivering this nutrient-rich resource to farmers in other states, where it is being used as a fertilizer to grow crops," the company said. "In accordance with the agreement, we are focusing on the removal of food processing residuals from the basin in Newton County first."

The company also said it is working with legislators to propose revisions to the bill authored by Reps. Ed Lewis and Dirk Deaton.

"While Denali supports revised regulations focused on transparency, we feel strongly the current draft bill requires significant revisions," the company said. "We've operated responsibly and per Missouri regulations for decades and are hopeful that we can work with legislators to arrive at a reasonable solution. As written, the current bill would add excessive and unnecessary costs to food manufacturers and would have negative impacts on the state's economy and businesses. Denali is committed to working toward common-sense regulations that support Missouri's food manufacturers, farmers, and the strength of Missouri's economy in a responsible manner.

"We would like for residents of Missouri to know that the recycling of these valuable, nutrient-rich food processing residuals is crucial to protecting water quality in Missouri and necessary for the success of both food production and farming operations in the state. Denali is engaging with community leaders directly, and we continue to work with the Missouri legislature, the Missouri Department of Agriculture, and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources on long-term solutions to ensure positive outcomes for businesses, farmers, and communities in Missouri."

other options

Periman said he doesn't want to use that waste sludge because he doesn't know exactly what's in it and he doesn't want to overapply fertilizer to his land.

"We have technology available to us today that it's easy to take a soil sample, take it to a lab just south of Monett, and it costs hardly anything to have a test done," Periman said.

He also said farmers can still use less expensive material such as chicken litter or buy the exact amount of fertilizer needed from suppliers.

"You can take that result to your local co-op, or even if you want to use chicken litter, you can have that litter tested and you know exactly what's in it, say, for nutrients, so you're not overapplying," Periman said. "You're not wasting money because your inputs on fertilizer and what you get out of it is not a linear line. It gets to a point that crop only has so much potential. You put another 100 pounds of nitrogen on, you're not going to gain another 60 bushel the acre. It's just a waste. It's a waste of money. It's a waste of product. This way you are guaranteed what you're getting."

Hall said he's also president of the Newton-McDonald County Cattlemen's Association and his group is supporting legislation sponsored by state Deaton and Lewis, from Moberly to impose more regulations on companies that seek to spread waste sludge on Missouri fields.

Steele said the next steps for SLUDGE are to move forward with its lawsuit against DNR and to continue monitoring a lawsuit filed by Denali against the Missouri Fertilizer Control Board.

According to the DNR, until last year Denali applied its product in Missouri under a permit exemption, based on a fertilizer license issued by the Missouri Fertilizer Control Board, but as of July 1, the Missouri Fertilizer Control Board did not renew those licenses. On June 30, the DNR also said it issued letters to Denali and other companies that previously held fertilizer licenses, stating that it would not take enforcement action for the continued land application of materials formerly licensed as fertilizer, as long as the company submits a permit application and all land applications meet the specific conditions and operational parameters set forth in the letter.

"There's a lot more things with legislation and the lawsuits that we'd love to see happen, but it takes time," Steele said. "And making some progress is better than no progress, especially if the progress we do make can make a good impact."