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environment

Out of sight, out of mind

Missouri is home to thousands of potentially leaking underground storage tanks (USTs) that contain — or once contained — petroleum and other hazardous substances. Buried pre-1988, those tanks have long outlived their average 30-year life spans, and now exist, out-of-sight, out-of-mind, in unknown condition, without oversight and not subject to current regulations, said Ken Koon, director of the Tanks Division, of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
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S.L.U.D.G.E., CRAP plan to sue to stop land-application statewide

Craig Family Farms, LLC, and the environmental groups Stop Land Use Damaging our Ground and Environment (S.L.U.D.G.E.), LLC, and Citizens of Randolph County Against Pollution (CRAP), LLC, served formal notice to six organizations last week of their intent to file a lawsuit in federal court to stop the land-application of meat and food-processing waste and biosolids to Missouri farmland. Targeted as prospective defendants are the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and waste-management companies, Bubs, Inc.; Denali Water Solutions, LLC (Denali); HydroAg Environmental, LLC; Reed Environmental, LLC; and Synagro Technologies, Inc., (Synagro).
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Sheila Harris: A conundrum

My brother’s daughter Britney (“Brit”) left us on July 27, 2023, not by choice, but because remaining was no longer an option. Diagnosed with an aggressive form of central nervous system cancer when she was 30 years old, Brit fought valiantly for the sake of “her boys,” her husband and then-9-yearold son.
Read MoreSheila Harris: A conundrum

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.
Read MoreSLUDGE plans fundraiser, informational opportunity

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.
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Denali’s Gideon basin deemed unfit

The integrity of Denali Water Solution’s Gideon storage basin in McDonald County has been compromised. Heather Peters, with the Water Pollution Section of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said her department investigated the condition of the basin after an area resident reported that the basin’s liner appeared to have floated to the surface.
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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. 
Read MoreSLUDGE fund grows