Community members rally against animal waste lagoon in Randolph County

Sep 01, 2023

MACON, Mo. (KMIZ)

Some Randolph County residents are trying to stop an animal waste lagoon from being constructed in Cairo.

On Monday night, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources held a public meeting to hear comments from the community regarding the draft permit for the waste basin.

People showed up in droves with over 100 people packing the DNR's regional office in Macon. State Senator Cindy O'Laughlin (R-District 18) and Randolph County Commissioner Sidney Conklin were among those who spoke.

The basin is being constructed by Denali Water Solutions near County Road 1770 and Route J east of Jacksonville.

Denali Water Solutions collects meat, dairy, food, and pet food products from Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. If they are given a permit they would be allowed to dump that waste into a basin and apply the material as soil. The basin can hold up to 15 million gallons.

A similar lagoon in Fairview, Missouri, “boiled over” due to foam contents from the lagoon that was caused by bacteria. As a result Denali Water Solutions, the company that owns the lagoon, was forced to send crews to contain the foam.

Citizens of Randolph County Against Pollution -- or C.R.A.P. -- is trying to rally support to stop the project.

“I am less than one mile from the basin sight and two of our largest fields that are on our farm are directly across the road,” Sharon Turner a Jacksonville resident, told ABC 17 News. “They are literally in my backyard.”

They argue the lagoon will reduce property value, produce a foul odor, spread disease to nearby wildlife, is located close to children, could create road hazards, and does not bring in any jobs to the community.

"I have been researching these types of companies and it is like peeling back layers of an onion," Turner said. "This entire business, waste disposal fertilizer business is horrible. It’s horrible for our environment."

C.R.A.P. held a fundraiser on Sunday night which raised more than $10,000. They have also put together a petition against the lagoon that reached 1,600 signatures on Monday.

Steve Jeffery a St. Louis lawyer representing the citizens of Randolph County also believes that Denali is trying to take advantage of Missouri’s minimal permitting requirements by masking as an agriculture company instead of a waste company.

"They are a waste disposal company and the types of materials they accept from their customers around the state and even out of state I suppose are waste products from food, processing plants, rendering plants, industrial sludge, the types of trash and garbage and waste materials that don’t originate from an agricultural source," Jeffery explained. "Yet on their permit application they filed they are calling themselves in the agricultural services industry."

According to the Department of natural resources, Denali has six previous violations of the Missouri Clean Water Law.

Denali issued their permit on June 28th. They say that they regularly respond to citizen concerns such as odor issues and take the appropriate action after investigating the complaints.

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