1. United States
2. Mo.
3. Letter

I urge you to strongly oppose HB3076 (Justus) and SB1427 (Gregory). These bills represent a dangerous rollback of Missouri’s clean water protections, prioritizing corporate interests over the health of our communities and environment. These bills claim to solve the non-existent problem that Missouri farmers are uncertain if they need a permit to fertilize their crops. There is no uncertainty in the agricultural community demanding this change. The risk of unintended consequences is real. Deleting words like "water contaminant" and "non-point sources" may seem minor, but these changes represent a "baby step" toward weakening permit requirements for other industries. Limestone quarries, airports, salvage yards, and even concentrated animal feeding operations could exploit this loophole to avoid oversight, despite claims to the contrary. We cannot afford to rely on the federal government to fill the gaps. With the current trend of federal environmental rollbacks, weakening state law is dangerously shortsighted. Missouri should not gamble its water quality on Washington. The exemption being proposed is overly broad. Agriculture already had explicit protections in state law. This new language invites other industries to argue their operations are non-point sources to evade permitting. We have seen this playbook before with the "Denali bill," where an industry tried to subvert regulations. This bill ignores the true source of pollution. The major threat to water quality has shifted from point sources like pipes to non-point source pollution, which accounts for roughly 95 percent of current issues and the majority of our state's impaired waters. By limiting oversight on non-point sources, this bill moves in exactly the wrong direction. These bills contribute to a troubling pattern of weakening Missouri’s Clean Water Law through incremental changes since 2016. Each "little change" expands exemptions and limits local control. DNR already has limited authority. At community meetings, residents opposed to new concentrated animal feeding operations are told DNR cannot deny permits. We should not tie their hands further. Clean water is a public right, not a commodity to be sacrificed for profit. The current framework, while imperfect, provides a necessary structure to hold polluters accountable. These bills dismantle that structure. I urge you to reject these proposals and uphold the state’s responsibility to protect our water for all who depend on it.