Improving the way we treat our waters

One of the great ironies in Missouri is that despite having great pride in our rivers, and being host to some of the best water recreation activities in the land locked United States, we are woefully behind on protecting these waters. For decades MCE has worked to bring Missouri up to speed with the most basic provisions of the Clean Water Act, and pushed regulators and the regulated to use better pollution management practices.

Although we take our advocacy to many forums, the regulatory framework for protecting Missouri's waters has been a constant battleground for us for over a decade. Through a series of lawsuits we have won increases in the extent and thoroughness of water quality protections in Missouri, but we are far from finished. Read More...

Every two years the Missouri Department of Natural Resources releases the proposed 'impaired waters' list, a list of waters that are not safe for fishing or swimming, or incapable of supporting aquatic life, and in some cases all three. Then these waters are subject to a TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) Report, that analyzes the pollution problem and put forward loading reductions that should restore water quality. This listing is based on a compilation of water quality data collected across the state, primarily collected by MDNR and the USGS. We have been engaged in watchdogging this process for a number of years, and we have discovered that not all waters are treated equally and that very few waters are actually monitored. Read More...