Hearing doesn't reassure property owners of landfarm's safety

NEAR ADVANCE, Mo. -- A public hearing Thursday in Stoddard County did little to ease the concerns of landowners with property near an Advance-area landfarm.

Thursday a public meeting was held by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to hear residents' concerns about a landfarm operated by Smith and Co. of Poplar Bluff, Mo. Smith and Co. must be approved for a DNR permit to operate its facility, and under new regulation the permitting process requires public hearings.

A landfarm is a facility where soil contaminated with petroleum products is placed in a lined pit. The chemicals in the petroleum are broken down by natural processes, and water from the operation is released into the environment. Landfarms are required to monitor their discharge in ways similar to wastewater treatment plants by submitting samples to an independent lab for testing.

Landowners discussed several concerns at the meeting, accusing Smith and Co. of improperly storing contaminated soil and saying the landfarm is in an area where runoff can enter the local water system during times of intense precipitation.

Linda Breitweg, who lives near the landfarm in Swinton, Mo., attended Thursday's public hearing. Breitweg said some area residents and landowners are concerned about runoff from the facility contaminating local streams. She also accuses DNR of turning a blind eye to what she calls improper practices at the landfarm.

Ed Robertson lives in Dexter, Mo., but has farmland directly bordering the landfarm and the small tributary stream to Wolf Creek the company dumps its storm-water discharge into after treatment. Robertson said he's been farming the land for 43 years and worries about the environmental affects of the landfarm operation.

Robertson said he's seen storm-water retention structures on the property fail during large rain events and contaminated soil laying on the property in uncovered piles.

Smith and Co. says the landowners' concerns are valid, but the landfarm operation is not as much a danger to public health and the environment as some of the landowners make it seem.

Company president Paul Ridlen acknowledged one of the most serious concerns -- that at one point contaminated soil at the landfarm was not properly protected from the elements when high winds continually blew coverings off the piles.

"We felt like those concerns were over-emphasized," Ridlen said. "A small area was uncovered for a short amount of time. We don't want to be argumentative. We felt like it was blown out of proportion, but it's a valid concern and we're going to do everything we can to resolve the problem."

Curt Gately, an environmental specialist with DNR, said many of the concerns he heard at the meeting had to do with planning and zoning issues -- the domain of county government, not the state. Gately said DNR has not tested soil and water samples around the landfarm operation, but the agency wouldn't do so unless there was some cause for concern.

Gately said the public comment period on the landfarm permit is continuing, and he'd like all comments to be received by April 6. Gately said he'll also be following up with some local landowners based on their comments at the public meeting and that some testing of wells in the area will be done. A decision on the permit will be made in late April.

"There were a lot of issues raised, and we want to address those concerns to any degree that we can," Ridlen said. "Whatever requirements they put in the permit, we plan to follow them."

msanders@semissourian.com

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