Missouri committee hears clash over plan to shift solid-waste district funding to DNR

The Missouri House Committee on Government Efficiency on Feb. 5 heard hours of testimony on House Bill 2761, a proposal to reallocate tipping‑fee funds now handled by regional solid‑waste management districts to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and direct money toward closing 29 abandoned landfills.

Supporters, led by the DNR director (identified in testimony as Kurt), told the panel the change is meant to recover money they say is currently spent on overhead instead of cleanup. "There’s language in the bill that specifically says we have the legal authority to do that and to spend money on it," Kurt said while describing the department’s plan to take on oversight and to use part of the reallocated funds for remediation. He told lawmakers the department inspects every one of the 29 sites but lacks the legal authority now to perform remedial work on some properties.

Kurt and some legislators framed the proposal as a fiscal and practical fix. The director said the program has paid roughly $4,000,000 a year in overhead to districts and that eliminating the districts’ administrative role could free up funds for grants and an additional cleanup allocation; he said statewide diversion since the program’s inception is "about a 2% diversion rate," and that roughly 32–34% of grants meet the grantees' self‑set metrics.

Opponents — a mix of district leaders, county officials and nonprofit and business witnesses — said the proposal would centralize control, imperil local programs and threaten jobs. "We do report to DNR every grant that we have," Diana Bryant, program manager for the Mid America Regional Council (District E), told the committee, describing annual budgets, financial reports and a public grant review process her district follows with DNR oversight. District chairs and directors argued their staff administer grants, run hazardous household‑waste programs, provide education and visit grantees, and that those activities are not mere "middleman" administration.

Multiple nonprofit witnesses said their operations rely on district funding. "This proposal would take away that local control," Jennifer Wendt of a statewide waste‑reduction group said, arguing that locally tailored programs keep waterways clean and run drop‑off events and hazardous‑waste collections that state agencies cannot easily replicate.

Private business testimony highlighted local economic impacts tied to district grants. Jonathan Overman, who runs a recycling company in southwest Missouri, credited district grants with early equipment purchases that helped grow his business to 75 employees and disputed the contention that districts have produced negligible diversion results in every region.

Several witnesses described divergent experiences across regions: some districts document grants and outcomes thoroughly and use administration funds for outreach and hazardous‑waste collection, while others provide less reporting. Kurt cited a 2006 audit and court rulings affecting access to district records to explain current statutory and legal constraints.

The hearing also included an emotional individual case: Elaine Arder described acquiring a tax‑sale certificate on a parcel that contained a previously undisclosed landfill. "I will not be taking ownership of this parcel that holds this landfill. Period," she said, using her story to press for stronger disclosure and remediation funding.

Lawmakers repeatedly asked whether DNR has the staffing and expertise to replace district staff and manage dozens of grant programs across the state. Kurt said DNR may need one to three additional FTEs to oversee the duties now handled by local districts but argued that even a small central team could be more discerning about grant awards and deploy funds targeted to cleanup.

The committee did not vote on the bill. Chairman Hausman closed the hearing saying the proposal "needs some work" and that members and the bill sponsor would continue discussions. The committee adjourned after extended public testimony and questions from lawmakers.