Posted on Aug 1, 2023
Missouri may allow meatpacker to release wastewater into an already-contaminated river
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State regulators are considering a request from Missouri Prime Beef Packers, which processes more than 3,500 cattle per week near Pleasant Hope, to treat wastewater from its operation using microorganisms and discharge it directly into the Pomme de Terre River.
A southwest Missouri river already contaminated with E. coli could soon receive up to 350,000 gallons of wastewater daily from a meatpacking facility.
And while the facility is expected to treat the wastewater for contamination before releasing it, critics of the proposal are worried about the operators’ history of violations at the site.
“It would be even worse than what they were currently doing — discharging it on land,” said Marisa Frazier, of the Missouri chapter of the environmental nonprofit Sierra Club.
A southwest Missouri river already contaminated with E. coli could soon receive up to 350,000 gallons of wastewater daily from a meatpacking facility.
And while the facility is expected to treat the wastewater for contamination before releasing it, critics of the proposal are worried about the operators’ history of violations at the site.
“It would be even worse than what they were currently doing — discharging it on land,” said Marisa Frazier, of the Missouri chapter of the environmental nonprofit Sierra Club.
Missouri may allow meatpacker to release wastewater into an already-contaminated river
Posted from kcur.org
Environment
Hazmat
Water
Posted 10 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Following the company’s request, the department performed a “water quality and antidegradation review” to determine limits on the company’s pollution discharge to minimize harm to the Pomme de Terre.
It determined the company can sufficiently treat the wastewater with microbe technology called “iLeaf,” but if it doesn’t work, the review says, the state can require the company to switch to another treatment option.
But Thompson and his clients think the state’s review was inadequate. It doesn’t mention the river is recommended for the 303(d) list, a list of impaired waterways the state submits periodically to the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has yet to sign off on the state’s latest list.
Once on the list, bodies of water are assigned a “total maximum daily load,” a limit on the amount of pollution that can enter the water."
..."Following the company’s request, the department performed a “water quality and antidegradation review” to determine limits on the company’s pollution discharge to minimize harm to the Pomme de Terre.
It determined the company can sufficiently treat the wastewater with microbe technology called “iLeaf,” but if it doesn’t work, the review says, the state can require the company to switch to another treatment option.
But Thompson and his clients think the state’s review was inadequate. It doesn’t mention the river is recommended for the 303(d) list, a list of impaired waterways the state submits periodically to the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has yet to sign off on the state’s latest list.
Once on the list, bodies of water are assigned a “total maximum daily load,” a limit on the amount of pollution that can enter the water."
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