Missouri Prime Beef Packers, a beef processing plant based in Pleasant Hope, MO, has withdrawn its application to use an innovative technology to discharge wastewater into the Pomme de Terre watershed.
According to a release from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR), on Jan. 2 Missouri Prime Beef formally informed the agency about its decision to withdraw an operating permit for the facility’s discharge.
Missouri Prime Beef submitted a renewal application for its wastewater operating permit on Aug. 2, 2022, along with an antidegradation application on Nov. 17, 2022. The request sought authorization for the slaughter and processing of live cattle for wholesale, as well as the storage and discharge of wastewater and the land application of sludge as fertilizer in agricultural fields near the basin location.
The draft water quality and antidegradation review entered public notice on May 26, 2023, leading to significant comments and requests for a public meeting. DNR stated they received over 1,500 public comments opposing the modification, many of which questioned using iLeaf technology. Concerns primarily focused on the documentation for the proposed innovative technology intended for wastewater treatment before discharge.
Additionally, hundreds of people gathered at the Pomme De Terre Lake pavilion in Hermitage, MO, expressing concerns about the release of wastewater into the watershed, according to local outlet KY3.
Missouri Prime Beef received notice of violations in 2022 and 2023 from DNR for failing to renew the Missouri state operating permit and causing pollution to a tributary of the Pomme de Terre River.
The meatpacker had sought to implement iLeaf technology for treating effluent waste, but DNR raised concerns in November, expressing its intent to deny the permit due to insufficient practical data on the experimental technology.
The agency scheduled a public hearing on Jan. 6 at the Pleasant Hope Middle School in Pleasant Hope but the application was withdrawn before the event.
DNR said at this time Missouri Prime Beef is prohibited from wastewater discharge until it secures a valid permit, and it is currently only allowed to apply wastewater to land with a permit or temporary enforceable operational parameters established by the department.
Heather Peters, DNR water pollution control branch chief , told KY3 there is still a possibility Missouri Prime Beef will file another application.
“We know that they have engineers, and their engineers are working with our staff engineers on the development of an actual plan for the wastewater treatment system,” Peters said. — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
