WARREN COUNTY, Mo. — Residents in Lake St. Louis are worried about a new meat packing plant and its water treatment facility currently being built in Warren County.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources said in a notice about a public hearing, “American Foods Development Co. LLC submitted a wastewater operating permit application for a new facility, America’s Heartland Packing Wastewater Treatment Facility. On the basis of preliminary staff review and applying applicable standards and regulations, the department issued a draft operating permit for public review and comment.”
The Missouri DNR hosted a virtual public meeting about the permits for the facility Tuesday night.
“The future plan is for the new advanced treatment plant to accept flows from the currently overloaded right city wastewater treatment plant while providing capacity for the city to grow,” Cindy LePage with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources said.
Crews involved in the project say this will be one of the first water treatment facilities that meets new EPA guidelines.
But neighbors who live along Lake Saint Louis are really worried about whatever might be flowing downstream from the meat packing plant and its water treatment facility into the lake they boat on and swim in every day.
“There are about 5,000 people in Wright City and there are about 5,000 people in Lake St. Louis community association alone, we are impacted if the lake continues to degrade,” Dave Kusmec, with the Engineering department for the Lake St. Louis Community Association, said during public comment.
Construction is already well underway for the $800 million beef packing facility, America’s Heartland Packing. It's near Wright City in Warren County.
Just one exit down on Interstate 70, construction is underway for a water treatment facility that will serve the plant and new developments. This is all near Peruque Creek, which directly feeds Lake Saint Louis.
“The Peruque Creek watershed is way, way bigger than Lake St. Louis can handle frankly, one inch of rain on wet ground and that watershed will bring Lake St. Louis up five feet, at least five feet. So we're talking about epic-type water coming down that creek,” Jack from Lake St. Louis said.
A Lake St. Louis Community Association board member said they already deal with sediment issues in the lake and are in the process of ramping up their water monitoring because keeping the water safe is their top priority.
They hope and expect through details of this permit that regulators will also monitor it.
“I think the enforcement here is really critical that we have a good sampling process, and then it's rigorously enforced,” Kusmec said.
There is one more opportunity for area residents to be heard, there will be an in-person meeting from 4-7 p.m. May 30 at the Wright City Lions Club.