South KC landfill opponents prepare for a potential Senate battle, after a win in the Missouri House

Takeaways:

• The Missouri House passed a bill that would block a proposed landfill in south Kansas City. The bill now heads to the Senate.
• A political action committee has raised money to support lobbying efforts to help pass the bill.
• A recent study found that Kansas City won’t have the need for another landfill for anywhere from 19 to 37 years.

When Rick Meyers started knocking on neighbors’ doors to talk about a proposed landfill about a mile from his home, he didn’t appreciate the scale his campaign would take on.

The door-knocking turned into an email list. That begat a Facebook group with nearly 5,000 members. Then a political action committee came online to support residents of south Kansas City in their anti-landfill lobbying efforts in Jefferson City.

Now, with a bill passed out of the Missouri House that would effectively block the proposed landfill site in south Kansas City, the group is facing a final sprint and one last hurdle to blocking a landfill: the Missouri Senate.

“We’re looking for our proverbial day in court,” Meyers said.

Currently, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources cannot issue a permit for a landfill designed for a city of more than 400,000 people within one-half mile of nearby cities without approval from those neighboring suburbs.

The legislation would increase that radius to a full mile. In practice, that would mean Lee’s Summit and Raymore could block a landfill on the proposed site. The location sits about a half-mile from a Lee’s Summit elementary school and about two miles from Longview Lake.

“We’re not an anti-landfill group,” Meyers said. “We know as a modern society, we need them. This is just simply not the right place for it.”

The legislation blocking passed in the Missouri House last year, but filibusters in the Senate stalled it.

This year, lawmakers and residents of south Kansas City, Raymore, Lee’s Summit, Grandview and Belton — the communities surrounding the proposed landfill site — are confident that the bill can pass in the Senate.

“Things are different this year,” said Jennifer Phanton, the treasurer of Kill the Fill PAC. “We are organized. We know the way to the Capitol now. We know where to get coffee, where to park, and we are much more familiar with the legislators.”

The PAC has raised more than $155,000 to hire lobbyists. Last year, the group had no lobbyists.

KC Recycle and Waste Solutions, the company proposing the landfill site, had 17 lobbyists in Jefferson City last year. In 2024, they’ve hired 19 . The city of Raymore, which is also working in the Capitol to pass the landfill bill, has three .

Now, with a bevy of fundraising dollars, Kill the Fill PAC has seven lobbyists, including former Missouri Speaker of the House Steven Tilley.

A hope for no hiccups in the Senate

“We feel like this is our path to get this taken care of,” said Raymore spokesperson Melissa Harmer.

The city has other options available, Harmer said, but thinks state legislation offers the most permanent solution.

A recent study from the Mid-America Regional Council found that south Kansas City won’t need another landfill for at least another 19 to 37 years, depending on recycling habits. Opponents of the landfill also point to a new site set to expand in Sedalia, Missouri.

“There’s plenty of opportunity to be responsible about what landfills expand, where do they go. There’s no need to rush into anything here in Kansas City,” Kit Starr, owner of Raptor Recycle and Transfer, told Fox4 KC. “The only need to rush is simply a business need for a developer, it has nothing to do with the community need.”

Last year, the bill was carried by Harrisonville Republican Sen. Rick Brattin and got caught up in intraparty fighting in the Senate. Republican Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman of Jefferson County filibustered the bill. Then Brattin filibustered the next day, blocking action on the floor for hours as the final days of the legislative session slipped away.

Coleman received a $2,400 donation from a political action committee associated with a lobbying firm working for KC Recycling Waste Solutions, the Missouri Independent reported last year.

“It’s hard to wait, but we’re really, really hoping that we can get it through this time,” Harmer said.

They also have a promise from Senate leadership that the bill will be brought to the floor.

Senate Majority Leader Cindy O’Laughlin of Shelbina said Wednesday on a radio show that she is working on a compromise on the bill , although it is unclear what that may be.

The legislation is HB 1751 and SB 739.

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