Scott County receives $10,000 grant to help clean up illegal dumps

BENTON, Mo. -- Scott County is cleaning up illegal dumps with help from the state.

The county has been selected for a $10,000 grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to clean up illegal dump sites containing items from old appliances to tree branches and trash. The grant is administered through the Bootheel Regional Planning Commission and the Bootheel Solid Waste Management District, which covers Pemiscot, Dunklin, New Madrid, Stoddard, Scott and Mississippi counties.

The $10,000 will be used for dumping fees as waste is hauled to transfer stations and recycling centers. The county will also contribute an in-kind donation of $5,000 of labor through the county highway department.

Commissioner Dennis Ziegenhorn, who represents Scott County on the waste management district's board of directors, said the grant will help clean up the county, but the illegal dump fight is an uphill battle.

"I don't know if you can totally keep up with it, but we'd like our county to look nice," he said.

Ongoing problem

Illegal dumping has been an ongoing problem in rural areas of Scott County for years, Ziegenhorn said, and he doesn't expect the practice to stop soon. But the county government has a duty to clean up illegal dump sites, he said, even if they'll just reappear later.

County highway department head Norman Brant said his department is continually finding illegal dump sites and cleaning them up. The department gets some help from labor provided by Scott County jail inmates, but most of the work falls on his personnel, Brant said.

"We work on it year-round," Brant said. "We're constantly trying to pick up the trash."

The problem isn't overwhelming, he said, but it is widespread.

"The residents of Scott County don't realize how much of their tax money is being used up just to clean up the trash," Brant said. "We'll have to send two or three people out at a time. It's not only costing a lot of money, but it's also dangerous,"

Brant said one worker was almost bitten by a snake that came out of a junk tire, and dangers like wasp nests and sharp objects are always lurking.

msanders@semissourian.com

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