DNR Lacks "Will and Authority"

The Environmental Task Force of Jasper and Newton Counties has joined opponents of Missouri Senate Bill 364, saying that the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) has a "proven record of being ineffective". The Joplin Globe reported, Sunday March 25, 2007, that SB 364 would rescind health ordinances designed to regulate CAFOs that already have been adopted by 16 of the state’s 114 counties, and would make it tougher for a property owner who lives near a CAFO to sue the operation over nuisance issues. The bill is sponsored by state Sen. Chris Koster, R-Harrisonville. After reviewing the bill, the executive board of the two-county task force decided to urge local legislators to vote against it and, at the same time, seek additional regulatory authority for the DNR. Members of the task force say health ordinances are being adopted by Missouri counties because the DNR lacks “the will and authority to adopt appropriate rules and regulations, and the financial resources to enforce the rules and regulations.”

The Environmental Task Force of Jasper and Newton Counties have sent letters, expressing opposition to SB 364 to: State Senator Gary Nodler, R-Joplin, and State Representatives Steve Hunter, Ron Richard, Marilyn Ruestman, Bryan Stevenson and Kevin Wilson, who represent Southwest Missouri. The letters say that “counties have the responsibility to protect the health, welfare and safety of its citizens. SB 364 limits a county’s ability to discharge that responsibility.”

The article states that about 30% (153 out of 517) of the concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO's) in Missouri, are in southwest Missouri (Jasper-10 CAFO's, Newton-33, Barry-62, Barton-1, McDonald-32 and Lawrence-15, Counties).