Attorney General's News Release

January 6, 1996

Kansas City to build, operate household hazardous waste facility as part of $2.3 million agreement on Ft. Hazard

Jefferson City, Mo. — The City of Kansas City will construct and operate a household hazardous waste facility for residents to safely dispose of toxic household chemicals as part of a $2.3 million agreement with the state of Missouri, Attorney General Jay Nixon announced today.

The agreement, which is pending formal approval by the city council, resolves allegations that the city illegally took more than 130 drums of hazardous waste to a clandestine storage site at 8100 Ozark Road, near the Truman Sports Complex. Nixon had alleged the city operated the site, known as “Ft. Hazard,” from approximately 1981 to 1993 in violation of numerous state environmental laws and without the knowledge of state and federal authorities.

The agreement includes:

• $950,000 for construction and operation of the household hazardous waste facility
• $900,000 budgeted over two years to staff the city's new Office of Environmental Management
• A $500,000 penalty, to be partially suspended if the city complies with hazardous waste laws

“The residents of Kansas City will see a two-fold benefit from this agreement,” Nixon said. “First, a potentially dangerous site will be cleaned up and the city will take aggressive steps to ensure it properly stores and disposes of its hazardous waste in the future.

“Secondly, the household hazardous waste program the city will operate will help homeowners in cleaning out their garages and basements of common toxic chemicals, such as paint, pesticides and cleaners,” Nixon said. “Most of the money in this agreement will be put right back into helping the environment. It is truly a solution that fits the problem.”

Department of Natural Resources investigators had cited the city in 1993 for improperly using the site for at least a 10-year period to store hazardous waste and chemicals, including explosives, chlordane, DDT, arsenic and poisons. The city removed the containers of hazardous wastes in December 1993 and will demolish the buildings at Ft. Hazard and clean up contaminated soil where needed.

Kansas City also has developed an Office of Environmental Management as a result of the discovery of Ft. Hazard. Nixon said the office handles all of the city's hazardous waste issues, instead of each individual department handling its own hazardous waste stream.

The city also is in the process of hiring a household hazardous waste coordinator for the new household hazardous waste facility and will make the facility available for a fee to other Missouri communities in the metropolitan area. The facility, to be located at the intersection of Chouteau and Deramus, is expected to open next August and will have an anticipated operating budget of between $400,000 and $800,000 annually.

“The city has demonstrated both its willingness to address the problems of the past and an ability to plan for the future in dealing with household hazardous waste through a coordinated central office,” DNR Director David Shorr said. “People want to properly dispose of household hazardous waste and this agreement will give them the avenue and opportunity to do just that within the Kansas City area.”

Nixon said Kansas City also has agreed to pay for licensed hazardous waste contractors to pick up and manage wastes that are abandoned on private property in the city and wastes generated as the result of emergency responses over the next three years. That part of the agreement also includes hazardous wastes from Missouri communities within eight miles of Kansas City. The state of Missouri normally would have paid for this hazardous waste management, at a cost estimated by the Department of Natural Resources to be $150,000.

The city also will pay a $500,000 penalty as part of the agreement, with $250,000 to be suspended if the city complies with hazardous waste laws for the next three years. An additional $150,000 will be suspended if the city fulfills its agreement to pay for the picking up of abandoned hazardous wastes.

The remaining $100,000 of the penalty will be paid to the Jackson County School Fund. The Missouri Constitution requires that money from environmental agreements and penalties be paid to the county school fund where the alleged violation occurred.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818