Dive summary:
- Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, has filed legislation in Missouri to have the Department of Natural Resources manage waste districts, saving the state about $3 million in overhead costs.
- Under the old law, established during the 1990s, the districts can spend 50% of their budgets on overhead; Schaefer says the law is outdated and hurting the state.
- Some southwest counties, which recently had massive amounts of waste from the Joplin tornado, are fighting the bill, saying it would take away funds for the community; Schaefer says those funds were not staying in the county anyway thanks to cheaper landfill fees in nearby Kansas.
From the article:
“This is a good example of every decade or so, you need to go back and look at the reasons that led to a law in the first place,” he said. “They don’t on this.”
Schaefer’s bill proposes the districts be managed by the Department of Natural Resources, an already existing agency, allowing the State to save about $3 million on overhead costs. Schaefer’s bill would reduce the tax on sanitary landfills to $1.71 per ton and on demolition landfills to $1.20 per ton.
“We need the solid waste program at DNR to have more money for enforcement,” he said. ...
