HB 2134/1956 has provided numerous protections to ensure facilities handling industrial wastewater, sludge, and process wastes cannot operate without abiding by certain standards necessary to protect the surrounding surface water bodies, groundwater, and neighboring land. These protections include groundwater monitoring for facilities near geological features that increase chances for contamination, such as operations on or near karst topography. These facilities will also be required to abide by minimum design standards for storage basins. This means the facilities must use certain materials and infrastructure used in the creation of the storage basins to minimize the risk of contamination. Lastly, HB 2134 directs DNR to mandate certain standards that facilities must abide by when handling industrial wastewater, sludge, and process wastes. Specifically, the nutrient management technical standard shall include land application practices, annual soil sampling, setback limits for land application and lagoon use within 3500 feet of an occupied dwelling, material sampling requirements and frequency, and a process for establishing land application rates. All of these added protections will help to ensure the waste does not harm Missouri’s people, their property, or the natural environment around them. 

Read the full bill here:

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