JEFFERSON CITY — A company central to a controversy that has infuriated many rural Missouri residents on Tuesday defended its practice of spreading meatpacking sludge on the state’s farmland.
Denali Water Solutions, an Arkansas-based firm that collects the waste products from beef, chicken, pork and turkey production facilities, called on members of the Senate Agriculture Committee to amend legislation aimed at regulating the industry.
Rob Curry, chief environmental officer at Denali, said the company takes its role in the meatpacking industry seriously. If the proposed law isn’t amended, he signaled that higher production costs could affect consumers in the pocketbook.
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The company serves 20 food processors employing 11,000 workers in Missouri.
“We support updates to the regulations. There is zero desire in our company to not follow the rules,†Curry said. “We’ve been here doing this for 25 years.â€
But he said the current proposal is “too broad†and could be improved with some tweaks. He said he believes the main issue is the odor that comes with spreading animal waste on open land.
“The material is safe, but it does smell bad,†Curry said.
Denny Henderson, a Barry County rancher, said he’s used the material as fertilizer on his 400-acre farm for the past three years.
“I’ve never had any bad effects on my cattle and calves,†Henderson said. “It smells a little bad for a while. I’d hate to see it go away.â€
Steve Johnson, a Newton County farmer, has used the material to fertilize his hay business for more than a decade. He called on lawmakers to ensure the company can continue to operate.
“Without this product, I don’t have hay to sell,†Johnson said. “We as farmers are very conscientious about our neighbors.â€
Before the Missouri Department of Natural Resources stepped in late last year, the firm would fill tanker trucks with the sludge and offer it to farmers as a free fertilizer. The material is stored in open lagoons until field conditions are right for the application.
Under a DNR order, the company is now emptying the massive storage pits and transferring it to wastewater treatment facilities.
As part of a compromise with regulators, Denali has agreed to pay $21,000 in fines.
Residents who have called for rules limiting the storage of the material in open air pits, as well as tougher rules on how it is applied to agricultural land, argued against loosening a House bill that aims to address the smelly problem.
Sammy Helm, who farms 1,500 acres in McDonald and Newton counties, told members of the Senate panel that previous applications of sludge near his property, some of which contained chicken bone grit, have leaked into a spring. He said the lack of rules have given companies a green light to operate in Missouri.
“This is the place to go because it has the least amount of regulation,†Helm said.
Gasconade County resident William Wymore said the “rancid†sludge can damage Missouri’s environment.
“It can create dead zones in our streams,†Wymore told the committee.
Under the House version, companies like Denali that want to build storage lagoons for animal byproducts would be required to test the waste monthly for heavy metals and pathogens and to make sure those materials are not being spread on cropland.
The proposal — which exempts large animal feeding operations because they are regulated under a different set of rules — also would require groundwater-monitoring wells to make sure the material isn’t seeping into creeks, rivers and lakes.
Rep. Ed Lewis, R-Moberly, who is sponsoring the proposal, said companies have exploited a loophole that affects the environment and the agriculture industry.
Lewis said the 15 million-gallon storage lagoon in Randolph County was built without a permit. He said the practice needs to be regulated to protect the environment and avoid affecting nearby residents.
“I am not against proper land application of sludge,†Lewis said. “That is not what this is about.â€
The legislation is seen as a balancing act between environmental concerns and a push by Gov. Mike Parson, a cattle rancher who is backing efforts to boost Missouri’s role in the meat processing industry.
“I hope we can find a happy medium,†said Sen. Sandy Crawford, R-Buffalo.
The legislation is and .