Environmental Law Blog

The federal Environmental Protection Agency reports that 290 million scrap tires are generated each year. Missourians alone generates approximately 5 million scrap tires each year.  A variety of pests, including mosquitoes capable of carrying the West Nile Virus, breed and live in old tires. Tires also take up much-needed landfill space. Tires release harmful pollutants into the environment, particularly if they catch fire. One passenger car tire may produce 2 gallons of oil when burned. And they mar the beauty of Missouri's rolling hills and blight our urban landscapes.  Its easy to see why we have to do something about waste tires.

Missouri law prohibits the dumping of solid waste. Section 260.270.1(1), RSMo. This includes scrap tires. Scrap tires may only be taken to or disposed of at facilities granted permits by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Scrap tire haulers and collection points also must have permits issued by DNR. Section 260.270.1, RSMo. Before being disposed of, scrap tires must first be cut, chipped or shredded. Section 260.270.1(6), RSMo. Violations of the tire law may be prosecuted as misdemeanors. Violators may also be ordered to pay civil penalties.

Missouri law imposes a fee of fifty cents for each new tire that is sold in Missouri. Section 260.273.2, RSMo. This tire fee is deposited in the Solid Waste Management Fund, which was established to provide a funding resource that could be directed to a variety of different projects, including cleanup activities and the elimination of illegal dumping operations in Missouri. Section 260.335, RSMo."

The Attorney General's Office has prosecuted numerous cases that lead to the cleanup of illegal scrap tire dumps.  We will continue to work with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to address waste tire sites when they arise.  If you know about a waste tire site with more than 500 scrap tires, you can submit a complaint to us online by clicking here.

The Soil and Water Conservation Program is a state-funded incentive program designed for the purpose of saving soil and water throughout the state through erosion abatement and sediment control on agricultural lands. In 1984, voters passed and continue to approve a 1/10 of 1% soil and water conservation and parks tax to fund state parks and to conserve soil on Missouri's agricultural lands. The cost-share program is intended to provide financial incentives to landowners to install erosion control practices that they would not otherwise install.

The Soil and Water Districts Commission sets all rules and policies governing the state cost-share program and reviews them as needed or as requested by local soil and water conservation districts. Funds authorized for cost-share assistance on erosion control practices, incentives or demonstration practices are allocated to local soil and water conservation districts. Annually, the commission approves a list of eligible cost-share practices that may be implemented by the local soil and water conservation district. During the annual review of the eligible practice list, the commission considers the current use of each practice and the relative needs for the practice.

Each locally elected soil and water conservation district board of supervisors is given the authority to manage the district's cost-share program within the rules and policies that govern the cost-share program. The district can only utilize those practices approved by the commission.

Landowner claims for cost-share can be denied when they do not comply with program rules. The commission will either approve or deny a claim for cost-share if it is alleged that the practice does not comply with the program rules. A landowner must agree to maintain the practice as approved for a period of years, usually 5 or 10. If the landowner alters or fails to maintain the practice, the district may demand a pro-rata return of the state's cost-share monies.

The Soil and Water Conservation Districts Commission also oversees the Agricultural Non-point Source Special Area Land Treatment Program (AGNPS SALT). The SALT Program addresses soil erosion and reduces or prevents agricultural non-point source pollution in targeted watersheds. Types of agricultural non-point source pollution include soil erosion, excessive nutrient loading from animal waste runoff, nutrient and chemical loading from crop areas, and increased nutrients and chemicals in water supplies caused by improper animal waste management.

Local soil and water conservation districts identify watersheds with existing water quality problems and apply for AGNPS SALT projects from the Soil and Water Districts Commission. The Soil and Water Districts Commissions decides which proposal will be approved as AGNPS SALT projects.

The Soil and Water Conservation Program also updates Missouri soil surveys and provides detailed maps of the different soils throughout the state. Soil scientists also provide soil assistance to landowners and other agencies to effectively make proper soil resource decisions.

The Attorney General provides legal counsel to the Commission and represents it in litigation. Questions concerning practices eligible for state cost-share can be directed to the local district office or the Department of Natural Resources.

Is this program a priority for Missouri in the 21st Century? Should Missouri continue to actively promote soil conservation, or should we focus on other objectives and allow federal regulators to handle these issues?

Raw milk and products made with it are those that have not gone through the pasteurization process. Pasteurization kills harmful organisms by heating the milk to a specific temperature for a set length of time.

In addition to bacteria found in raw milk that may cause illness, it also may be contaminated with E. coli, which can produce toxins that cause a condition called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). HUS is a serious, life-threatening complication that can cause severe, bloody diarrhea, injury to the kidneys and kidney failure. Half of all people with HUS-related diarrhea require dialysis, and three to five percent of these people die. Overall, HUS occurs in about 10 percent of those infected with E. coli. This condition can be especially serious in young children, senior adults and people with weakened immune systems.

Raw milk products can also carry Listeria bacteria that put pregnant women and their unborn or newborn children at risk. Listeria can cause miscarriage, fetal death or illness or death of a newborn. These bacteria can also put the unborn baby at risk even if the mother does not feel ill. Additionally, raw milk can also carry bacteria that cause typhoid fever, tuberculosis, diphtheria and brucellosis.

Raw milk products that should be considered unsafe include soft cheeses such as Brie and Camembert, and Mexican-style soft cheeses such as Queso Fresco, Panela, Asadero and Queso Blanco, unless they are made from pasteurized milk. Other products that could be considered unsafe if made from unpasteurized milk include cream, yogurt, pudding, ice cream and frozen yogurt.

Some people believe that consuming raw milk and raw milk products have benefits over consuming pasteurized milk and milk products, like greater nutritional value, vitamins that are present naturally rather than added, and even protection against tooth decay. Research, however, has shown no benefit from raw milk over pasteurized milk.

Section 196.935 says that only pasteurized graded fluid milk and fluid milk products shall be sold to the final consumer (or to restaurants, soda fountains, grocery stores, or similar establishments) except that an individual may purchase and have delivered to him for his own use raw milk or cream from a farm.

Solid waste can spoil the environment and pose risks to human health unless it is properly managed. The state and most counties and cities have laws and regulations for solid waste management. State law requires permits and engineering controls for operations such as landfills, trash transfer stations, recycling centers and waste tire storage facilities. Operators of such businesses are required to have plans to ensure that the facilities are not causing surface or groundwater contamination, air pollution, or public nuisance. Here are some examples of legal obligations imposed: An operator of an active landfill has to cover exposed trash with soil before the end of each operating day to prevent blowing litter. A closed landfill is required to be covered with a thick cap that has a gentle slope and is covered with grass to prevent erosion and to keep water from passing through the trash and running off into streams and lakes. Waste tires have to be stored in a way that does not allow water to collect and attract mosquitoes because such insects can transmit dangerous diseases.

The Department of Natural Resources is responsible for the state solid waste permit programs and conducts regular inspections of facilities. When an operator is not in compliance with the permit or regulations, the Department may ask the Attorney General to file a lawsuit to force the violator to pay penalties and fix the problems caused by the violations.

Leaving solid waste anywhere other than at a permitted facility, or burning it instead of properly disposing of it, is illegal under state law. Violators may be required to pay to civil penalties and to clean it up. In some cases, the violators can face criminal penalties. There are limited exceptions for related to farming and manufacturing operations, and individuals may be allowed to dispose of personal waste from their own residential activities on their own property, so long as they do not create a public nuisance or affect public health. Questions regarding the proper disposal of solid waste can be directed to county or city health departments, solid waste management districts, the Department of Natural Resources, or the Attorney General.

Rock Port, a small Missouri town of approximately 1,300 residents, just became the first town in the nation to fully support its energy needs with wind energy.

With the help of the University of Missouri's Northwest Extension Office, Rock Port harnessed its high concentration of wind resources to develop a wind energy system suitable for utility-scale wind development. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Northwest Missouri contains a number of locations with potential suitability for wind development.

According to the St. Louis Business Journal, wind farms will bring in more than $1.1 million annually in county real estate taxes, to be paid by Wind Capital Group, a wind energy developer based in St. Louis.

In addition to increased tax revenue, landowners can make money leasing part of their property to Wind Capital Group for the operation of wind turbines. Moreover, electricity from the wind turbines is expected to meet the community's energy needs for the next 15-20 years, without the threat of rate increases.

Rock Port decided to "go green" without any state economic incentive packages. In fact, Missouri does not offer any incentives for individuals or communities to switch to renewable energy resources or adopt greener energy policies.

What do you think would make a good incentive package? Let's brainstorm some realistic incentive packages for Missouri's energy future.