MO exempts river close to Moark from clean water rules

[usregimechange]

Elm Spring Branch, the source of water for the Neosho National Fish Hatchery, is the only stream in Newton County that could be exempted from tougher bacterial standards being considered by the Missouri Clean Water Commission.

What worries the two Newton County residents is that Elm Spring Branch is a mile or so from the new egg farms proposed by Moark Industries. Knowing that the spring provides water for the fish hatchery and knowing that it is a losing stream, they can only surmise that the creek is being exempted for the benefit of the egg producer.

“It’s a mile from the first bunch of chicken houses,” said Boyt. “If this stream is exempted, it appears to me they could do anything they want to. They could say they are not doing anything wrong and that it’s perfectly legal what they are doing. It would remove the accountability. “That’s the only explanation for exempting this stream that I can think of.”

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources put the stream on a list of water bodies recommended for exemption from some federal Clean Water Act protections after the department conducted what it calls a “use attainability analysis” to determine how the public uses the stream.

http://www.joplinglobe.com/story.php?story_id=201414&PHPSESSID=63f4a19b0f043659fba68bde1259b1e9

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1. Brought to you by:

Missouri Governor Matt Blunt today nominated Doyle Childers to serve as director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
http://www.gov.mo.gov/press/DNR_Head_012505.htm

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2. A Childers connection to Moark?

But is Childers looking out for the taxpayers' interests when fostering the MoArk Productions hen-laying expansion project? What entity is going to pay to clean up the waterways polluted by chicken litter and manure from as many as 4 1/2 million birds?

According to documents gathered by Scott Dye, national director of the Sierra Club Water Sentinels Program, for well over a decade state officials, and now recently Childers, have been aware of numerous operational problems at MoArk's three existing egg production facilities.

http://www.joplinindependent.com/display_article.php/mariwinn1116820986

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3. more

MDNR correspondence from agency director Doyle Childers to MOARK: “The department is aware of your interest in obtaining a timely construction permit for the project.” “My staff has projected the following milestone dates. Please be aware that although we will do everything in our ability to keep this project on schedule, mitigating factors such as public interest has a tendency to impact those dates.” “The department does not wish to unduly delay your project. Please be aware that we have received a petition requesting a public meeting on this project.”
http://missouri.sierraclub.org/moark/MOARK7.HTM

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4. More, oped

That, unfortunately, is the viewpoint of the Blunt administration: The profit motives of big business take precedence over clean air and clean water. For instance, residents of southwest Missouri almost unanimously opposed a proposed expansion by a MOARK egg-laying operation. The huge CAFO, with more than 1 million chickens, had been the target of multiple DNR violation citations, but the Blunt administration’s DNR gave assurances to MOARK of the state’s commitment to meeting MOARK’s schedule. In short, the plans of MOARK - actually the plans of Land O’ Lakes, which owns MOARK - were more important than any concern raised by residents.

Although Blunt, speaking through DNR Director Doyle Childers, likes to talk about a "balance," the fact is that his balance is always tilted. That tilt is not in the direction of residents’ health.
http://www.showmenews.com/2005/May/20050527Comm002.asp

[NoFederales]

5. This is practically my backyard

Blunt/DNR/Childers/MOARK--it's getting harder and harder to work for water quality.

Not giving up, but it's hard work, hhhHard, work. I'll try to post updates.

NoFederales

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6. I live just north of you. Are you aware of this site?

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/swmo4progress/

[NoFederales]

7. Contacted this group once or twice w/o success

The stream team and outdoor classroom students of mine are reaching out to ensure water quality issues down here. We have had some public success with posting our data locally, and with possibly helping to charter a Tri-State Spring River Watershed group (we met as a group this past June to explore opportunities--MO, KAN, OKLA), but if MO-DNR keeps fucking up with relaxing previously set standards and allowing corps (like MOARK and CAFO operations) to pollute at will--it will get tougher and tougher. Gov Blunt has yet to show me anything regarding water quality.

Wally Kennedy (Joplin Globe reporter) met with Childers this past spring and asked him one of our questions: what do you tell adolescents who are trying to do authentic science with civic minded projects that adults in charge just don't care? Childers blew it off as well, maybe that won't happen and we won't have to tell them. Childers used to be an educator, he should know better.

We are also involved now with globe.gov, a www site that acts as a clearinghouse for scientific databases of information collected from many countries.

New schoolyear starting; hope I can keep up my DU monitoring.

NoFederales

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8. Keep up the good work

It benefits both students and the public. You can post a message to SWMO4P by e-mailing them: [e-mail] Feel free to share reports/research, we have several professional environmentalists.