Fertilizer permits for companies land-applying wastewater residuals expired on June 30, and though Denali Water Solutions has not yet applied for permits with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to land-apply their waste-processing residuals in southwest Missouri, practices will continue as the companies move forward with completing the permit process.

“[The DNR] is working with all of the entities that are land applying previously exempt fertilizer materials,” said Heather Peters, with the Water Protection Program of the DNR. “Denali has submitted permit applications for three of [its] five basins and/ or land application areas [in Missouri].”

In southeast Missouri, Denali conducts land application without using a storage lagoon, but the company will still need a permit for that land application, Peters said.

Peters said as of June 30, Denali had submitted applications for permits for their southeast Missouri operations and for areas near their storage lagoons located in Macon and Randolph Counties in northeast Missouri.

“I understand that Denali is working on the last two permit applications [for the Gideon and Evans lagoons in southwest Missouri],” Peters said. “The application process is robust, and [Denali intends] to submit one at a time as they complete them. These are the last two applications that I am expecting.”

The requirement for permits with the DNR represents an administrative change from the fertilizer permits formerly held by the Missouri Fertilizer Control Board (MoFCB). The fertilizer permits – which counted as an exemption with the DNR – expired on June 30. Moving forward, the waste-processing residuals of Denali and other such companies are no longer classified as fertilizer and will be regulated directly by the DNR.

The reason for the change, MoFCB Director Steve Taylor said in April, boils down to the market value of the residuals.

“When companies offer their [process-waste materials] to landowners for free, [the materials have] no significant market value,” he said. “The general intent of the Missouri fertilizer law is to provide consumer protection through truth in labeling and to protect fertilizer customers from experiencing significant economic harm due to the purchase of a fertilizer product that is deficient in essential plant nutrients. Since this material is free and has no significant market value, the regulations and requirements of Missouri fertilizer law do not apply, so a fertilizer permit is not required.”

In southwest Missouri, entities that land-apply processing residuals include, among others, Synagro, headquartered in Baltimore, Md., and Denali Water Solutions, headquartered in Russellville, Ark. Both companies land-apply poultry- processing residuals in southwest Missouri. They also contract with other types of processing facilities to remove their waste materials, but it is unknown where those materials are disposed of.

For the year dating from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, Synagro held less than 10 Missouri fertilizer permits in the name of its business contractors. Denali held more than 100.

Because the process of applying and issuing permits through the DNR is time-consuming, not much will immediately change after July 1, Peters said.

“Because [DNR] permits cannot be issued in such a short time frame, the department has determined that the continued land application of these [waste] materials – so long as they comply with our land application practices and [companies move forward with submitting] their permit applications – is preferable to suddenly disallowing all land application of materials previously exempted as fertilizer,” Peters said.

In other words, don’t expect to see changes in the land-application practices of processing residuals in southwest Missouri anytime soon.

Peters said the draft permit is still being written, but it will include all of the new operational requirements, including sampling parameters, frequency and limits, land application rates and practices, setback distances and more.

“The draft permit will be placed on public comment so that anyone can review the proposed requirements and provide feedback,” Peters said.

“In short, the permit will establish requirements for land application practices, including best management practices, rates, setback distances, sampling and recordkeeping. The details will be available during the public notice of the draft permit.”

The public notice of the draft permit, when it’s available, can be viewed at https://dnr.mo.gov/ water/what-were-doing/public-notices.

Civil suit, violations ongoing

Denali is currently the defendant in a McDonald County civil lawsuit initiated by plaintiff Collingsworth Land, LLC. Collingsworth alleges that its land and livestock production were harmed by Denali’s negligence and trespass, due to runoff from waste activated sludge applied to neighboring land by Denali, on or around August 9, 2022. The plaintiff is requesting a jury trial. That trial was originally scheduled for June 6, 2023, in McDonald County 40th Circuit Court in Pineville, but has been postponed. A pretrial conference is scheduled for December.

Denali is also currently the subject of enforcement action from the DNR as a result of violations of the Clean Water Act in southwest Missouri.