MO Gov. signs bill in McDonald County to protect clean water

PINEVILLE, Mo. (KOAM) - Missouri Gov. Mike Parson stopped in McDonald County Wednesday for a ceremonial signing of a bill.

House Bill 2134/1956 may sound like any other bill that goes through the Missouri legislature, but for residents in McDonald and Newton County, like farmer Adam Periman, it's a step in the right direction.

“Just the crowd that's here today shows what significance and how much it matters to the people in the community," says Periman.  "It's not a well known thing other than if you smelled it and the smell, it really has nothing to do with the problem.”

The bill modifies permit requirements and exemptions related to Missouri fertilizer and clean water laws. These bills are of special interest to community members who have expressed concerns about wastewater storage basins, also known as lagoons, in the area.

Concerns a have been raised for years about the potential impacts of these sites, but they came to a head after a storage basin company spilled more than 6,000 gallons of sludge in October of last year.

"W e don't want this to wind up in the water, or any of the minerals, the heavy metals, the chemicals that can't be absorbed by dirt or are taken up by plants or crops,” says Perriman.

Area representatives like Rep. Dirk Deaton have been working on potential regulations for these lagoons for years. He says it's an exciting moment to finally see action taken on a state level.

“This bill protecting the property rights for the water resources in the state, has an application over here, really right now in McDonald and Newton counties in southwest Missouri," says Deaton. "And so we’re doing it for the people. And it’s great the governor has come down here to sign it kind of where it all began.”

Several local groups and committees have formed out of concern surrounding sludge, one such group being the Stop Land Use Damaging out Ground and Environment, known by the acronym S.L.U.D.G.E , which Perriman is a part of.

He says while the signing of the bill is a huge step in the right direction, the work is not done.

“We're just now getting started, really. I mean, anybody that's ever worked with an attorney before knows that those bills, they don't stop," says Periman. "We need support from everybody. We need your voices. Please be encouraged to learn, find out what it is.”

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