This is an aerial view of a Denali lagoon in rural Newton County. A Denali lagoon in nearby McDonald County has a tear in its liner, the company confirmed.
STELLA, Mo. — A tear in the plastic liner of a Denali wastewater tank in McDonald County has raised concerns in Jefferson City and changed plans to empty it and a similar tank in Newton County near Fairview.
Heather Peters, chief of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ water pollution control division, said the liner tear was discovered several days ago, but the agency didn’t fully understand the extent of the problem until last week.
“When we were notified, we understood the tear was above the fluid level,” Peters said.
However, regulators have since confirmed that there was liquid under the liner and that it was beginning to float.
Peters said the affected basin is on property leased by Arkansas-based Denali Water Solutions, which built the basin, located south of Stella in McDonald County.
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“We’re working with Denali to address that issue, and we’re looking at a couple different options potentially on how to address it,” Peters said. “We’re prioritizing that basin and having them continue to empty it and we also want to address how much liquid was under there, how much liquid, if any, has been released.”
Denali uses the two lagoons in southwest Missouri to store residual waste from dozens of meat and food processing and manufacturing plants in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. That material was being spread on fields as fertilizer, but many residents in the region had opposed the practice because of odors and concerns about its impact on water quality, property values and their health.
Reduction order
The DNR ordered Denali to stop applying the material to land earlier this year and to empty its basins in the state.
Denali said in a written statement emailed to The Joplin Globe on Thursday that it was during that process that the tear was discovered.
“Since February, Denali has been working to remove food processing waste stored in the lagoon near Stella and to supply this resource to farmers in other states as fertilizer,” Denali said. “In the course of this work, Denali discovered a tear in the lagoon liner and immediately reported the situation to the Department. “Since then, we have worked with the Department to assess whether there has been any impact and continue to monitor the integrity of the lagoon.”
Each stores about 14 million gallons of waste, which opponents have characterized as “sludge.”
Peters said these basins have different lining systems that have compacted clay at the bottom to prevent the material from seeping into the soil beneath and around the basin.
The McDonald County watershed had a liner system that included compacted clay base but also required a plastic liner.
“They had the permeability ratings for it and it was relatively waterproof; however, it did not meet our standards, hence the plastic coating,” Peters said. “It appears to be retaining liquid under the plastic lining, but we want to confirm that. “We are considering doing some sampling outside the basin to determine if we think anything is leaking or has leaked through that basin.”
Background
Peters said the quickest way to empty the basins would be to apply the material to the soil around the basins, but the DNR is not considering that option because Denali was ordered in November 2023 to stop applying it to the soil.
That order came after an incident in McDonald County in October 2023, where it was over-applied during wet weather and flowed into a tributary of the Elk River.
“I know one of the concerns that came up was, ‘Are you going to let them pour it out and apply it there?’” Peters said. “The answer to that is no. We have taken a series of enforcement actions to prohibit application on land immediately surrounding that watershed. We are not going to back down on any of those steps and efforts.”
Denali’s ability to operate the basins in Newton and McDonald counties as built could also be affected if Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signs legislation passed by the Missouri House and Senate that changes the rules for operating them. .
The bills, co-sponsored by Rep. Dirk Deaton, R-Noel, and Sen. Jill Carter, R-Granby, include rules for setbacks in areas with occupied homes and businesses, as well as other changes.
“If the governor’s office signs bills 2134 and 1956, this basin will not be able to be used in the future as it is anyway,” Peters said. “Obviously we wouldn’t allow it to be used as is with the cladding broken anyway.”
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