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Saint Joseph council approves $1.12 million emergency landfill excavation; public raises asbestos and hauler-rate concerns
Summary
The City Council approved a $1,123,510 emergency agreement for excavation at the Saint Joseph sanitary landfill and declined to adopt a mandatory 30% intake cut; haulers and residents urged tiered rates and warned of asbestos in an on-site pile.
The Saint Joseph City Council on Jan. 21 approved an emergency ordinance to fund excavation work at the city sanitary landfill, voting unanimously to authorize a $1,123,510 agreement with Mcon LLC for emergency work on Cell A.
Council approved the emergency measure after the clerk read the ordinance and the council cast an 8-0 vote to carry the motion. A separate resolution that would have established a mandatory 30% reduction in landfill intake beginning March 1 was introduced and then withdrawn by an 8-0 vote.
City staff told the council they had asked haulers to voluntarily reduce intake by 30% while the city awaits additional space approval from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and work to complete Cell 8. An official said the city has met with DNR and the contracting firm SCS and is hopeful DNR will approve additional space by March 1; staff said they did not want to impose restrictions on private businesses until the regulatory picture is clearer.
Members of the public used the meeting’s public-comment period to press the council on how landfill capacity and operations would affect residents and local businesses. Deb Baldwin urged a tiered licensing and rate structure that would grant the lowest rates and highest tonnage allowances to haulers who work exclusively in Saint Joseph, a slightly higher rate to haulers operating across Region D, and the highest rate to out-of-region haulers; she proposed requiring demonstration of where waste originates to qualify for lower rates.
Local hauler Josh Reinert warned council members about contamination risks at the landfill’s so-called 'Trash Mountain,' saying materials he observed — including gypsum board, vinyl flooring and adhesives — could contain asbestos fibers and that disturbing the pile could spread hazardous dust. "Every scoop you take, you are jeopardizing the lives of everyone in our community," Reinert said, urging the council to develop a comprehensive removal plan before moving material.
Terry Peterson, who hauls to the landfill and lives in Clinton County, disputed the notion that outsiders are solely to blame, saying the landfill has been self-sustaining and that nonresident customers helped build and sustain the facility.
The council did not adopt immediate mandatory intake limits. Next steps recorded in the meeting record include proceeding with the emergency excavation contract and continuing coordination with DNR and the city’s contractor; the council did not set a follow-up vote date in the record at Jan. 21.
