Tuesday, February 07, 2006

DNR sending wrong message in Moark situation

The Neosho Daily News noted last night that the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has issued an official notice of violation against Moark for its continuing odor problems, but will not levy any fines.
I would imagine this decision has Moark officials shaking in their boots. What incentive do they have to make improvements at their facilities? The company is now wholly owned by Land O'Lakes, which has deep pockets, so start hitting it where it counts if it cannot abide by state regulations.
Even more disturbing was DNR officials' refusal to release Moark's response earlier this week. It was the company's public response to an odor complaint; it was not going to change; the public had every right to see it the same time or shortly after the state officials saw it.
When you combine that kind of attitude about the public's right to know with the acceptance of campaign contributions from Moark by Governor Matt Blunt and some of our area officials, is it any wonder people have no faith in the system?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You've aptly shown in other posts that greed, not the public's interest, is the motivating factor.
It should be noted that fines are not levied against a company for a single violation, and, as in the case of RES substantiation for violations is being withheld by the MDNR to thwart the efforts of the attorney general. There's quite a big ole boy network with their hands dirty.