State House votes to force sale of southern Missouri park

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri would be forced to sell a planned state park on the Eleven Point River in the southern part of the state under a bill that has passed the state House.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that lawmakers took the action Wednesday. The nearly 4,200-acre park in Oregon County is the most controversial of four park acquisitions engineered by former Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon. At issue is that settlement money with lead mining companies was used to purchase the land.

Critics say the money should have been used to more directly help communities affected by the after effects of mining. But park defenders said the purchase was well within the bounds of the settlement reached with the former ASARCO company.

The Department of Natural Resources didn't immediately comment.