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State of the States
by Ken Midkiff
Ozark Chapter Director
In a cramped conference room in the Mississippi River
lowlands town of Kennett, Mo., the state conservation
commission voted unanimously and without fanfare to undo all
previous actions they had taken to allow a lead mining
company to operate on state conservation lands. Three people
in the audience clapped politely after the 4-0 decision.
Crow had been eaten, and the commission members did not like
the taste.
What had led up to this somewhat anti-climactic, late-summer
performance was one of the largest expressions of public
outrage over an environmental issue in Missouri history. The
quick and decisive victory illustrates dramatically what can
be accomplished by an active Sierra Club chapter, even when
caught by surprise.
The commission's original decision to allow mining had been
made as quietly as the motion to rescind it. At its regular
monthly meeting in June, members considered a "carry in"
agenda item. Without listing it on the advance agenda, as
required by the Missouri Open Meetings and Records Act, and
without reporting it in the minutes or materials released
after the meeting, they had authorized the director of the
Department of Conservation to negotiate a mineral
exploration permit and mining lease with the Doe Run
Company. The permit and lease granted Doe Run the right to
operate on 7,080 acres of state lands adjacent to the
Current River - a national Ozark scenic riverway.
In addition to the apparently illegal secrecy, the
questionable nature of the decision was compounded by the
fact that the lands opened to Doe Run had originally been
purchased as part of an 80,000-acre parcel from the Nature
Conservancy with federal funds. The Nature Conservancy
described the parcel as "the most biologically diverse area
in the state." Further, the Missouri Constitution
requires that the commission manage state lands for the
restoration and promotion of "fish, game, forestry and all
wildlife resources."
However, the real furor was caused by the location of the
proposed mining - along the Current River - the most popular
canoeing stream in the Midwest. Known as the Big Springs
Country and typified by heavily wooded valleys and hills,
sinkholes, caves and azure-blue springs, the local watershed
hosts tens of thousands of visitors every year.
Lead mining is the most environmentally degrading industrial
activity in the Ozark Plateau. Huge tailings ponds litter
the landscape, smelters spew toxic emissions and waste water
from the mines pollutes local streams and rivers. The Doe
Run Company is the largest polluter in the state, far
exceeding any other industry in the annual Toxic Release
Inventory.
The Ozark Chapter and the Missouri Coalition for the
Environment responded to the commission's decision by filing
suit in county court under the open-meetings law. The
chapter - working almost around the clock for three weeks -
sent out alerts to its 9,500 members, contacted other
groups, urged state legislators to get involved, visited
editorial boards, wrote op-ed pieces, did media interviews
and talk shows and produced and ran radio ads throughout the
state.
During July and August, thousands of letters, faxes and
phone calls poured into Gov. Mel Carnahan's (D) office, to
commission members and to the Department of Conservation.
The media had a field day denouncing the commission's
action.
Chapter members told the governor and commission members
that allowing lead mining in one of Missouri's most valued
natural areas was completely unacceptable. There was simply
no way to ignore such overwhelming public opposition. In the
end, the commission reversed its decision.
Thanks to the Ozark Chapter's aggressive pursuit of outside
grants over the last two years, they had adequate resources
to carry out this emergency campaign. Without funding to
print and mail alerts and to produce and run radio ads, the
results would have been far more difficult to achieve, and
the battle more prolonged.
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