Federal cuts won't affect Missouri meth lab cleanups

SIKESTON, Mo. -- With federal funds for meth lab cleanups drying up, law enforcement agencies in many states may scale back their hunts for the labs -- but not Missouri.

The Drug Enforcement Administration announced last month that congressional funding for its Community Oriented Policing Services Methamphetamine Program is exhausted with renewed funding unlikely in the next few years.

The COPS program provided $19.2 million for meth lab cleanups this fiscal year.

In states that rely on the COPS program, such as Tennessee, Alabama, Michigan, Mississippi and Arkansas, agencies contact the DEA after a lab bust. The DEA then brings in a hazardous materials contractor, often from out of state, to clean up the toxic mess. Cleanup costs average about $2,000 per lab and can run as high as $10,000.

Initially Missouri agencies did this as well, said Kevin Glaser, SEMO Drug Task Force supervisor.

"But it wasn't feasible," Glaser said. "We were waiting five to six hours for them to show up and were charged exorbitant fees."

The waste and debris from meth labs can't be disposed of in regular landfills. Accordingly, Missouri and a few other states had the foresight to set up their own disposal systems.

"We've been dealing with the meth lab problem since about 1995," Glaser said. "We implemented a program a number of years ago where we established bunker sites. We have three of them in our area. They are at Poplar Bluff, Jackson and Kennett."

The bunkers are typically maintained by a local police or fire department, according to Glaser.

"It's a storage container. When we go out and process a lab, we package the hazardous material, the contaminants that are left over from a meth lab, and they are transported back to these hazardous material storage bunkers," Glaser said. "Once they get there, the chemicals are generally neutralized."

The materials are then stored for a brief period of time until the Missouri Department of Natural Resources comes and cleans out the bunker and takes the materials to further process them, Glaser said.

This self-sufficiency means Missouri "won't be impacted by the cleanup aspect as a lot of other states will be," Glaser said.

And handling cleanups in-house instead of paying a contractor brings the cost down significantly.

"I think our average cost on a lab cleanup is $300 to $500," Glaser said. "The labs we have in Missouri are not huge -- there are a lot of them, but they are small in size. To get a private contractor to come in and get that same 2-liter bottle, they're going to charge $1,200 to $1,500."

Missouri's solution for dealing with meth lab cleanups seems to be working well for local agencies.

Some participate in regional task forces and call in those specially-trained units for cleanups.

"If my officers find a meth lab, they secure it and immediately call the Drug Task Force," said Terry Stevens, New Madrid County Sheriff. "They make sure the area is safe -- if it is a residence, clear the residence and get the officers out of the residence until the Drug Task Force can arrive on the scene."

Stevens, who serves on the board of directors for the SEMO Drug Task Force, said area agencies such as his department each assign officers to the Task Force.

"The officers involved in processing labs are provided with specialized training," Glaser said. "You need to have the proper safety equipment to process labs as well as the training."

Some local agencies are able to handle many of the meth labs on their own, however, thanks to the bunkers.

"Most of the time, we're going to have a small toxic area we are dealing with," said Sgt. Jim McMillen, public information officer for the Sikeston Department of Public Safety. "We have officers here that are certified through the DEA to clean up these meth labs. Whenever we find a meth lab, we'll send one of these certified technicians out to deal with it."

McMillen said DPS has about a half-dozen officers certified for meth lab cleanups that know how to handle, package, transport and dispose of what cannot be kept as evidence.

"They will break it down and take the hazardous materials away and collect evidence they need to take," he said.

McMillen said DPS sends its hazardous materials from meth labs to the DNR bunker in Jackson.

"I've always kind of wondered why the other states haven't gone the route we went because it's worked for us," Glaser said. "We've had really good success with our system."

For those states who still rely on the DEA and contractors, the funding cut will place a "a tremendous burden" on the local agencies, he said.

"These labs are going to be found -- they show up in hotel rooms, they show up in national forests, they show up in state parks, a lot of them are located in vehicles," Glaser said. "Something has to be done with those hazardous chemicals."

Some information for this article was provided by the Associated Press.