Amidst the lawsuits, citizen groups and heightened community interest, there has been a change in the state’s tune in the last week on how it is handling Denali Water Solution’s land applications of processed waste in Missouri.
As of Thursday, Denali is no longer allowed to apply in the state, and it has been directed to empty its two storage basins, one of which is in Fairview, just outside the Barry County line.
The lingering question is, how long will the directive last.
The Denali saga dates back more than two years at this point, when Sheila Harris approached me about covering a story on the wastewater residuals being dumped across southwest Missouri and the potential impact it may have.
Her dogged reporting on this subject is the kind of journalism that should be celebrated and respected. The time she has put into understanding and simplifying the story is more than commendable, and the interest each story has received in the community is a testament to her hard work and excellent reporting skills.
Based in Arkansas, Denali is one of many companies that operate in Missouri, but due to a recent violation, it is being singled out and had its “enforcement discretion” revoked.
Two violations have been issued to Denali, fined $15,000 for spills in McDonald County against the Missouri Clean Water Law.
The first violation occurred near Southwest City, in McDonald County, on Aug. 9, 2022, after subcontractors for Denali applied 165,000 gallons of processing waste to land owned by Elbert and Dixie Cantrell. According to Denali representatives, an intense and unexpected rainfall that night caused the land-applied material to enter a neighboring property.
According to an Abatement Order of Consent, an investigation by the DNR on Aug. 11, 2022, confirmed that, from the Cantrell property, the product was discharged into the Cave Springs Branch (Waters of the State) via a culvert underneath McDonald County Highway MM. Department staff observed fertilizer product in Cave Springs Branch downstream of the Cantrell property.
In the case of a second recorded spill on March 2, the AOC said DNR staff observed contractors for Denali conducting land application activities on property owned by Rhett Mason, near Stella, in McDonald County, where product was actively discharging from the Mason property into the tributary to Indian Creek.
More recently, in October, a hose leak allowed 6,000 gallons of product to spill in Fairview, causing a road closure but ultimately cleaned up entirely.
The controversy surrounding Denali and similar companies boils down to the impact of its products. Denali and farmers who receive the free treated wastewater from animal processing plants claim the product works to reinvigorate the land and prepare it for crops.
Denali has assured us many times its product contains appropriate amounts of nitrates and other chemicals that soil needs to produce healthy yields. However, we have had a hard time finding farmers willing to discuss the benefits in detail in print.
Most we’ve encountered preferred to not be named. That stance is likely from the backlash they think they might receive due to the overpowering smell of the product and worry that it may pollute waterways or area wells.
Residents around the lagoon in Fairview have banded together to form SLUDGE (Stop Land Use Damaging our Ground and Environment), an LLC working to combat land applications in the state.
Their stories are harrowing. Imagine living your life happily on a rural Barry County farm when all of the sudden, with no warning, nor your opinion sought, a 17-million-gallon storage basin is installed nearby.
The basin is so close, the smell it emits permeates your property. Your kids can’t stand to play outside, no one wants to come to your house for dinner, and the value of your property has taken a nose dive because no one wants to knowingly live in such a situation.
This is the plight of Barry County residents who feel underrepresented and with nowhere to turn, and I feel for them.
I would not want to be put in their situation, and I don’t think you — or any Denali brass for that matter — would want to be either.
Yet, Denali is a company just trying to do its business. And, business would have to be good for the company to truck loads and loads of its product out of state to apply on Missouri farms for free.
With the state putting the kibosh on land applications for now, the next chapter in the saga is as up in the air as the scent of the product.
Multiple lawsuits are attempting to adjudicate the situation, including from SLUDGE and from CRAP (Citizens of Randolph County Against Pollution). Denali also has its own lawsuit against the Missouri Fertilizer Control Board.
With so many irons in the fire, the final outcome remains to be seen. It seemed from last week’s action that land application was over and the basins would be emptied and remain that way, but that may not be the case for long.
DNR is working with Denali on a resolution to empty the storage basins, as they are currently operating without a permit.
However things shake out, it is my hope that no Missouri residents will have to consider taking a loss on their home just to move away from a situation they had no control over.
That is one of many bars Denali needs to meet, and if they are allowed to continue operating in the state, I hope they do it.
Kyle Troutman has served as the editor of the Cassville Democrat since 2014 and became Publisher in 2023. He was named William E. James/Missouri Outstanding Young Journalist for daily newspapers in 2017, and he won a Golden Dozen Award from ISWINE in 2022. He may be reached at 417-847-2610 or ktroutman@cassville-democrat. com.
