JUDGE ORDERS HAZARDOUS-WASTE PLANT CLOSED

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources received permission this week to storm the gates of a Scott City business to ensure it poses no danger to the environment.

Scott County Circuit Judge David Dolan approved a preliminary injunction to close the Millennium Environmental Services Inc. facility at 3100 Industrial Fuels Drive and revoke its state permit to store hazardous wastes.

Millennium officials are responsible for the cleanup and proper closure of the building, the judge ruled.

Dolan granted the DNR immediate access to the area "including forceful entrance, if necessary, for purposes of site assessment and security."

"If they don't clean it up, that's when the DNR will move in and take any actions to make it safe and close the facilities," said Jack Cardetti, a spokesman for the state attorney general's office.

Millennium was not represented at the court hearing, and no Millennium officials could be reached for comment Thursday.

The only activity at the facility Thursday was a flag waving in the wind inside the tall, padlocked fences topped with barbed wire that surround the site.

Not worried'

Midwest Truck Sales and Service Inc., 3120 Nash Road, sits just in front of the hazardous- waste facility. Ron Pratt of Midwest Truck said the business has appeared deserted for several months.

Pratt said he has not been concerned about possible environmental hazards although he has heard "all kinds of rumors" about what might be stored in the facility.

"I'm not really worried," Pratt said. "I probably should have been."

The attorney general's office sued the company in June after DNR investigators allegedly found numerous violations of state hazardous-waste-management laws that potentially threaten the environment.

According to the lawsuit, Millennium accepts a variety of ignitable, corrosive or toxic wastes for storage and disposal. Violations DNR inspectors cited the company for are improper storage of waste and exceeding storage limits.

Larry Fry, the company's vice president for operations, said last month allegations that the company was financially unstable and posed an environmental danger were false..