Missouri committee hears bill to give DNR authority, funding to address 29 abandoned landfills

Representative Brad Vanderman asked the House Committee on Government Efficiency on Feb. 5 to approve House Bill 27-61, a measure he said would for the first time give the Missouri Department of Natural Resources the statutory authority and a funding stream to assess, remediate and manage the state's abandoned landfills.

Vanderman said the bill addresses four problems: improving notice and tax-sale protections for properties that contain landfills; restoring plain CPI-based indexing to the landfill tipping fee under DNR director discretion; creating a new statutory section authorizing DNR to 'assess, investigate, test, remediate, and manage abandoned solid waste disposal areas;' and dissolving the state's 20 solid-waste districts and moving grant administration and tipping-fee receipts to DNR.

"For the first time in Missouri state history, we will empower the DNR of the state of Missouri to be able to reassess, remediate, and fix the abandoned landfills around our state," Vanderman said during his presentation. He told the committee the package is intended to reduce administrative overhead and redirect money now used for district administration toward remediation and grants.

Why it matters

Vanderman said DNR currently lacks statutory authority and a dedicated, recurring fund to address an estimated 29 abandoned landfills across Missouri. Proponents told the committee that some orphan sites are leaching contaminants into nearby streams and groundwater and that local buyers repeatedly discover landfills only after courthouse tax sales.

"When I bought this farm, my whole intention was to raise cattle. And I cannot do that now," testified Jim Roberts, a Franklin County landowner whose property borders what he called the "Generally Landfill." Roberts said DNR test results he provided show lead, arsenic and PFAS 'including results he described as "over 400 times the standard for drinking water" ' in a spring on his property.

What proponents said

Marissa CrisoCoe (presented as Marissa Crisocco in testimony), dean of engineering at the University of Missouri, told the committee that a recurring fund would let DNR plan and characterize sites and thereby unlock federal and private funding for cleanup. Vanderman said the bill keeps grant priorities intact while centralizing administration at the DNR to reduce duplicative overhead.

What opponents said

Representatives of the existing solid-waste districts and their advisory board urged caution. Chris Bussin, chair of the Solid Waste Advisory Board, told the committee that districts have a long record of grant administration and local programs and that the board is "vehemently opposed to eliminating local control." Bussin said the districts issue hundreds of grants and oversee local diversion programs; Derek Stanley, director for Districts F and T, urged reform rather than wholesale elimination.

DNR perspective and fiscal picture

Curt Schaffer, director of the Department of Natural Resources, testified for informational purposes. He told the committee last year the statewide tipping fee generated roughly $14 million; DNR's share was about $5.2 million and the districts' share about $8.6 million. Schaffer said district overhead has grown under the current statute, which allows up to 50% for administrative costs, and argued the committee should consider redirecting inefficient overhead to remediation of orphan sites.

Committee concerns and next steps

Members questioned whether the tipping fee functions like a tax and whether giving fee adjustment authority to one appointed official conflicts with Hancock principles on taxation by voters. Several members also pressed for more documentation about district spending, local safeguards to preserve community input, and an estimate of cleanup costs. No formal vote was taken; the committee recessed and planned to resume consideration after other business.

The hearing record includes written test reports and local site maps submitted by witnesses; the committee scheduled additional informational follow-up with DNR and other stakeholders.

Ending

The committee paused the hearing to reconvene later; no final action on HB 27-61 was recorded during this session.