A bill moving through the Missouri legislature would give the state new authority to clean up abandoned landfills, but it would also dissolve Missouri鈥檚 solid waste management districts 鈥� a proposal that has drawn sharp criticism from environmental groups and district leaders who say it could disrupt recycling programs and cost jobs.
The legislation, Senate Bill 1586, is sponsored by State Sen. Ben Brown and aims to address Missouri鈥檚 estimated 29 abandoned landfill sites, many of which lack a legally responsible owner. Brown said current law ties enforcement and cleanup authority to landfill owners 鈥� a problem when no owner exists.
鈥淲hat wasn鈥檛 anticipated is the situation we have now, where we have nearly 30 sites that do not have an owner,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淲ith the absence of the owner, DNR has no authority or ability to go in and actually do anything to remediate the problem.鈥� The bill would give the Missouri Department of Natural Resources the authority to 鈥渁ssess, investigate, test, remediate and manage abandoned solid waste disposal areas.鈥�