Stop the Kansas City Landfill

I urge you to support SB739 (Cierpiot), SB769 (Brattin), HB2254 (Davis), HB2255 (Davis), SB 1139 (Brattin), and HB 1751 (Haffner), which establish stricter restrictions regarding solid waste disposal permits. Current law allows municipalities within a half-mile to object to a landfill permit being approved by the Department of Natural Resources. The proposed legislation would extend that boundary to a full-mile. Landfills cause odors, noise, and heavy vehicle traffic, which have significant impacts to communities more than a half-mile from their boundaries. It is reasonable that communities less than a mile from the site should have a say in their location. The proposed Kansas City landfill in Jackson County is less than 1000 feet from a school and less than 3.5 miles from ten other schools. We know that landfills are currently an unfortunate necessity, however, developers should discuss landfill locations openly with the surrounding communities and not only with lobbyists at the State Capitol. There are existing landfills with sufficient capacity for at least another ten years, which should provide adequate time to find a more suitable location.