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EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
[TRULY AGREED TO AND FINALLY PASSED]
HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 953
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
2026
4505H.04T
AN ACT
To repeal sections 640.144, 640.220, 643.350, 644.021, 644.051, and 644.059, RSMo, and to enact
in lieu thereof seven new sections relating to environmental programs within the
department of natural resources.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 640.144, 640.220, 643.350, 644.021, 1
644.051, and 644.059, RSMo, are repealed and seven new sections 2
enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 640.144, 3
640.220, 643.350, 644.021, 644.051, 644.059, and 644.083, to 4
read as follows:5
640.144. 1. All community water systems shall be 1
required to create a valve inspection program that includes: 2
(1) Inspection of all valves every ten years; 3
(2) Scheduled repair or replacement of broken valves; 4
and 5
(3) Within five years of August 28, 2020, 6
identification of each shut-off valve location using a 7
geographic information system or an alternative physical 8
mapping system that accurately identifies the location of 9
each valve. 10
2. All community water systems shall be required to 11
create a hydrant inspection program that includes: 12
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(1) Scheduled testing of every hydrant in the 13
community water system; 14
(2) Scheduled repair or replacement of broken hydrants; 15
(3) A plan to flush every hydrant and dead-end main; 16
(4) Maintenance of records of inspections, tests, and 17
flushings for six years; and 18
(5) Within five years of August 28, 2020, 19
identification of each hydrant location using a geographic 20
information system or an alternative physical mapping system 21
that accurately identifies the location of each hydrant. 22
3. The provisions of this section shall not apply to 23
any state parks, cities with a population of more than 24
thirty thousand inhabitants, [a] any county with a charter 25
form of government and with more than six hundred thousand 26
but fewer than seven hundred thousand inhabitants, [a] any 27
county with a charter form of government and with more than 28
nine hundred fifty thousand inhabitants, or [a] any public 29
service commission regulated utility with more than thirty 30
thousand customers. 31
640.220. 1. For the purpose of protecting the air, 1
water and land resources of the state, there is hereby 2
created in the state treasury a fund to be known as the 3
"Natural Resources Protection Fund". All funds received 4
from air pollution permit fees, gifts, bequests, donations, 5
or any other moneys so designated shall be paid to the 6
director of the department of natural resources, transmitted 7
to the director of revenue and deposited in the state 8
treasury to the credit of an appropriate subaccount of the 9
natural resources protection fund and shall be used for the 10
purposes specified by law. The air pollution permit fee 11
revenues shall be deposited in an appropriate subaccount of 12
the natural resources protection fund and, subject to 13
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appropriation by the general assembly, shall be used by the 14
department to carry out the general administration of 15
section 643.075. The water pollution permit fee revenues 16
generated through sections 644.052, 644.053, 644.054 and 17
644.061 shall be paid to the director of the department of 18
natural resources, transmitted to the director of the 19
department of revenue and deposited to the credit of the 20
water pollution permit fee subaccount of the natural 21
resources protection fund and, subject to appropriation by 22
the general assembly, shall be used by the department to 23
carry out the administration of sections 644.006 to 644.141. 24
2. Effective July 1, 1991, and before June 30, 2027, 25
the provisions of section 33.080 to the contrary 26
notwithstanding, any unexpended balance in the subaccounts 27
of the natural resources protection fund that exceeds the 28
preceding biennium's collections shall revert to the general 29
revenue fund of the state at the end of each biennium. 30
Beginning July 1, 2027, any unexpended balance in the 31
subaccounts of the natural resources protection fund that 32
exceeds the preceding biennium's collections shall not 33
revert to the general revenue fund of the state at the end 34
of each biennium. All interest earned on the natural 35
resources protection funds shall accrue to appropriate 36
subaccounts. 37
3. Beginning July 1, 2027, and annually on July first 38
of each succeeding year, the commissioner of administration 39
shall use taxable sales reports to estimate the amount of 40
state general revenue sales and use tax derived from 41
electric power distribution (NAICS code 221122, or its 42
successor) in the immediately preceding calendar year and 43
shall report such amount to the state treasurer. The state 44
treasurer shall transfer five percent of such general 45
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revenue sales and use taxes to the air pollution permit fees 46
subaccount of the natural resources protection fund and such 47
funds, subject to appropriation by the general assembly, 48
shall be used by the department solely for the purpose of 49
funding the air pollution control program. Any provision of 50
law to the contrary notwithstanding, amounts transferred in 51
accordance with this subsection shall not revert to the 52
general revenue fund of the state at the end of each 53
biennium and shall be used solely for the purpose of funding 54
the air pollution control program. 55
643.350. 1. A fee, not to exceed twenty-four dollars, 1
may be charged for an emissions inspection conducted under 2
the emissions inspection program established pursuant to 3
sections 643.300 to 643.355. 4
2. The fee shall be conspicuously posted on the 5
premises of each emissions inspection station. 6
3. The commission shall establish, by rule, the 7
portion of the fee amount to be remitted by the emission 8
inspection station to the director of revenue and the number 9
of days allowed for remitting fees. 10
4. The official emission inspection station shall 11
remit the portion of fees collected, as established by the 12
commission pursuant to this section, to the state treasurer 13
within the time period established by the commission. The 14
state treasurer shall deposit the fees received in the state 15
treasury to the credit of the "Missouri Air Emission 16
Reduction Fund", which is hereby created. Moneys in the 17
fund shall, subject to appropriation, be expended for the 18
administration and enforcement of sections 643.300 to 19
643.355 by the department of natural resources, the Missouri 20
highway patrol, and other appropriate agencies. Any balance 21
in the fund at the end of the biennium shall remain in the 22
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fund and shall not be subject to the provisions of section 23
33.080. All interest earned by moneys in the fund shall 24
accrue to the fund. [If in the immediate previous fiscal 25
year, the state's net general revenue did not increase by 26
two percent or more, the state treasurer may deposit moneys, 27
except for gifts, donations, or bequests, received under 28
this section beginning January first of the current fiscal 29
year into the state general revenue fund. Otherwise, the 30
state treasurer shall deposit such moneys in accordance with 31
the provisions of this section.] 32
5. In addition to funds from the Missouri air emission 33
reduction fund, costs of capital or operations may be 34
supplemented, upon appropriation, from the general revenue 35
fund, the state highway department fund, federal funds or 36
other funds available for that purpose. 37
644.021. 1. There is hereby created a water 1
contaminant control agency to be known as the "Clean Water 2
Commission of the State of Missouri", whose domicile for the 3
purposes of sections 644.006 to 644.141 shall be deemed to 4
be that of the department of natural resources. The 5
commission shall consist of seven members appointed by the 6
governor with the advice and consent of the senate. No more 7
than four of the members shall belong to the same political 8
party. All members shall be representative of the general 9
interest of the public and shall have an interest in and 10
knowledge of conservation and the effects and control of 11
water contaminants. At least two members shall be 12
knowledgeable concerning the needs of agriculture, industry 13
or mining and interested in protecting these needs in a 14
manner consistent with the purposes of sections 644.006 to 15
644.141. At least one member shall be knowledgeable 16
concerning the needs of publicly owned wastewater treatment 17
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works. No more than four members shall represent the 18
public. [No member shall receive, or have received during 19
the previous two years, a significant portion of his or her 20
income directly or indirectly from permit holders or 21
applicants for a permit pursuant to any federal water 22
pollution control act as amended and as applicable to this 23
state.] The commission shall establish rules of procedure 24
that specify when members shall exempt themselves from 25
participating in discussions and from voting on issues 26
before the commission due to a potential conflict of 27
interest as prohibited under section 105.452. A member 28
shall exempt him or herself from participating in 29
discussions and from voting on any issue before the 30
commission including, but not limited to, permitting and 31
enforcement actions that directly involve an entity from 32
which the commissioner receives or has received within the 33
previous two years a significant portion of his or her 34
income. All members appointed on or after August 28, 2002, 35
shall have demonstrated an interest and knowledge about 36
water quality. All members appointed on or after August 28, 37
2002, shall be qualified by interest, education, training or 38
experience to provide, assess and evaluate scientific and 39
technical information concerning water quality, financial 40
requirements and the effects of the promulgation of 41
standards, rules and regulations. At the first meeting of 42
the commission and at yearly intervals thereafter, the 43
members shall select from among themselves a chairman and a 44
vice chairman. 45
2. The members' terms of office shall be four years 46
and until their successors are selected and qualified. 47
Provided, however, that the first three members appointed 48
shall serve a term of two years, the next three members 49
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appointed shall serve a term of four years, thereafter all 50
members appointed shall serve a term of four years. There 51
is no limitation on the number of terms any appointed member 52
may serve. If a vacancy occurs the governor may appoint a 53
member for the remaining portion of the unexpired term 54
created by the vacancy. The governor may remove any 55
appointed member for cause. The members of the commission 56
shall be reimbursed for travel and other expenses actually 57
and necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties. 58
3. The commission shall hold at least four regular 59
meetings each year and such additional meetings as the 60
chairman deems desirable at a place and time to be fixed by 61
the chairman. Special meetings may be called by three 62
members of the commission upon delivery of written notice to 63
each member of the commission. Reasonable written notice of 64
all meetings shall be given by the director to all members 65
of the commission. Four members of the commission shall 66
constitute a quorum. All powers and duties conferred 67
specifically upon members of the commission shall be 68
exercised personally by the members and not by alternates or 69
representatives. All actions of the commission shall be 70
taken at meetings open to the public. Any member absent 71
from six consecutive regular commission meetings for any 72
cause whatsoever shall be deemed to have resigned and the 73
vacancy shall be filled immediately in accordance with 74
subsection [1] 2 of this section. 75
644.051. 1. It is unlawful for any person: 1
(1) To cause pollution of any waters of the state or 2
to place or cause or permit to be placed any water 3
contaminant in a location where it is reasonably certain to 4
cause pollution of any waters of the state; 5
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(2) To discharge any water contaminants into any 6
waters of the state which reduce the quality of such waters 7
below the water quality standards established by the 8
commission; 9
(3) To violate any pretreatment and toxic material 10
control regulations, or to discharge any water contaminants 11
into any waters of the state which exceed effluent 12
regulations or permit provisions as established by the 13
commission or required by any federal water pollution 14
control act; 15
(4) To discharge any radiological, chemical, or 16
biological warfare agent or high-level radioactive waste 17
into the waters of the state. 18
2. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate, use 19
or maintain any water contaminant or point source in this 20
state that is subject to standards, rules or regulations 21
promulgated pursuant to the provisions of sections 644.006 22
to 644.141 unless such person holds an operating permit from 23
the commission, subject to such exceptions as the commission 24
may prescribe by rule or regulation or as exempted in 25
section 644.059. However, no operating permit shall be 26
required of any person for any emission into publicly owned 27
treatment facilities or into publicly owned sewer systems 28
tributary to publicly owned treatment works. 29
3. It shall be unlawful for any person to construct, 30
build, replace or make major modification to any point 31
source or collection system that is principally designed to 32
convey or discharge human sewage to waters of the state, 33
unless such person obtains a construction permit from the 34
commission, except as provided in this section. The 35
following activities shall be excluded from construction 36
permit requirements: 37
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(1) Facilities greater than one million gallons per 38
day that are authorized through a local supervised program, 39
and are not receiving any department financial assistance; 40
(2) All sewer extensions or collection projects that 41
are one thousand feet in length or less with fewer than two 42
lift stations; 43
(3) All sewer collection projects that are authorized 44
through a local supervised program; and 45
(4) Any other exclusions the commission may promulgate 46
by rule. 47
4. A construction permit may be required by the 48
department in the following circumstances: 49
(1) Substantial deviation from the commission's design 50
standards; 51
(2) To address noncompliance; 52
(3) When an unauthorized discharge has occurred or has 53
the potential to occur; or 54
(4) To correct a violation of water quality standards. 55
5. Any point source that proposes to construct an 56
earthen storage structure to hold, convey, contain, store or 57
treat domestic, agricultural, or industrial process 58
wastewater also shall be subject to the construction permit 59
provisions of subsections 3 to 5 of this section. However, 60
any earthen basin constructed to retain and settle nontoxic, 61
nonmetallic earthen materials such as soil, silt, and rock 62
shall be exempt from the construction permit provisions of 63
subsections 3 to 5 of this section. All other construction- 64
related activities at point sources not subject to 65
subsections 3 to 5 of this section shall be exempt from the 66
construction permit requirements. All activities that are 67
exempted from the construction permit requirement are 68
subject to the following conditions: 69
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(1) Any point source system designed to hold, convey, 70
contain, store or treat domestic, agricultural or industrial 71
process wastewater shall be designed by a professional 72
engineer registered in Missouri in accordance with the 73
commission's design rules; 74
(2) Such point source system shall be constructed in 75
accordance with the registered professional engineer's 76
design and plans; and 77
(3) Such point source system may receive a post- 78
construction site inspection by the department prior to 79
receiving operating permit approval. A site inspection may 80
be performed by the department, upon receipt of a complete 81
operating permit application or submission of an engineer's 82
statement of work complete. 83
6. Notwithstanding any provision of this section to 84
the contrary, the commission may exempt an entity from the 85
requirement to obtain a permit under this section based on 86
licensure under the Missouri fertilizer law, sections 87
266.291 to 266.351, only if the entity is producing products 88
that are commercially sold to an end user in accordance with 89
such sections and has accurate labeling for each container 90
that includes the information required under subsection 1 of 91
section 266.321. 92
7. Entities currently storing combined bulk 93
fertilizers in storage basins shall not be exempt from any 94
design requirements for agrichemical facilities established 95
by rule when constructing new agrichemical facilities. 96
8. (1) In order to receive an operating permit under 97
this section, any point source or operating location seeking 98
an operating permit for a commingled offsite industrial 99
wastewater or wastewater residuals open storage basin or 100
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open storage vessel shall meet current design requirements 101
for a wastewater treatment facility's design capacity. 102
(2) Except as provided in subdivision (3) of this 103
subsection, the department shall require at least, but not 104
more than, the following buffer distances between the 105
nearest commingled offsite industrial wastewater or 106
wastewater residuals open storage basin or open storage 107
vessel and any public building or occupied residence other 108
than a public building or occupied residence that is 109
operated by the commingled offsite industrial wastewater or 110
wastewater residuals open storage basin or open storage 111
vessel or a residence from which a written agreement for 112
operation is obtained: 113
(a) For a facility with a capacity of more than five 114
hundred thousand gallons but less than or equal to five 115
million gallons, one thousand feet; 116
(b) For a facility with a capacity of more than five 117
million gallons but less than or equal to ten million 118
gallons, two thousand feet; and 119
(c) For a facility with a capacity of more than ten 120
million gallons, three thousand five hundred feet. 121
(3) All commingled offsite industrial wastewater or 122
wastewater residuals open storage basins or open storage 123
vessels holding valid operating permits as of July 9, 2024, 124
shall be exempt from the buffer distances prescribed in 125
subdivision (2) of this subsection. Such distances shall 126
not apply to a facility that has received a written 127
agreement signed by all affected property owners within the 128
relevant buffer distance. 129
(4) The department shall require groundwater 130
monitoring on a site-specific basis when, in the 131
determination of the division of geological survey, the 132
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commingled offsite industrial wastewater and wastewater 133
residuals open storage basin or open storage vessel is 134
located in proximity to a geological feature that increases 135
the likelihood of groundwater contamination. 136
(5) (a) The department shall establish by rule 137
sampling requirements for commingled offsite industrial 138
wastewater and wastewater residuals open storage basins or 139
open storage vessels based on permitted materials. 140
(b) The department shall, within sixty days of July 9, 141
2024, begin the process of promulgating rules, which shall 142
include creating a chain of custody record form to be used 143
by all parties during the handling of testing samples, and, 144
at a minimum, establish criteria to require annual sampling 145
and testing of any contents of any commingled offsite 146
industrial wastewater or wastewater residuals open storage 147
basin or open storage vessel for: 148
a. The total concentrations of metals, including 149
arsenic, aluminum, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, 150
mercury, selenium, silver, and thallium; and 151
b. E. coli and fecal coliform. 152
(c) Testing under paragraph (b) of this subdivision 153
shall be done by a third-party certified laboratory and 154
results of the testing shall be sent to the department by 155
the third-party certified laboratory annually. 156
9. A governmental unit may apply to the department for 157
authorization to operate a local supervised program, and the 158
department may authorize such a program. A local supervised 159
program would recognize the governmental unit's engineering 160
capacity and ability to conduct engineering work, supervise 161
construction and maintain compliance with relevant operating 162
permit requirements. 163
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10. Before issuing any permit required by this 164
section, the director shall issue such notices, conduct such 165
hearings, and consider such factors, comments and 166
recommendations as required by sections 644.006 to 644.141 167
or any federal water pollution control act. The director 168
shall determine if any state or any provisions of any 169
federal water pollution control act the state is required to 170
enforce, any state or federal effluent limitations or 171
regulations, water quality-related effluent limitations, 172
national standards of performance, toxic and pretreatment 173
standards, or water quality standards which apply to the 174
source, or any such standards in the vicinity of the source, 175
are being exceeded, and shall determine the impact on such 176
water quality standards from the source. The director, in 177
order to effectuate the purposes of sections 644.006 to 178
644.141, shall deny a permit if the source will violate any 179
such acts, regulations, limitations or standards or will 180
appreciably affect the water quality standards or the water 181
quality standards are being substantially exceeded, unless 182
the permit is issued with such conditions as to make the 183
source comply with such requirements within an acceptable 184
time schedule. 185
11. The director shall grant or deny the permit within 186
sixty days after all requirements of the Federal Water 187
Pollution Control Act concerning issuance of permits have 188
been satisfied unless the application does not require any 189
permit pursuant to any federal water pollution control act. 190
The director or the commission may require the applicant to 191
provide and maintain such facilities or to conduct such 192
tests and monitor effluents as necessary to determine the 193
nature, extent, quantity or degree of water contaminant 194
discharged or released from the source, establish and 195
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maintain records and make reports regarding such 196
determination. 197
12. The director shall promptly notify the applicant 198
in writing of his or her action and if the permit is denied 199
state the reasons for such denial. As provided by sections 200
621.250 and 640.013, the applicant may appeal to the 201
administrative hearing commission from the denial of a 202
permit or from any condition in any permit by filing a 203
petition with the administrative hearing commission within 204
thirty days of the notice of denial or issuance of the 205
permit. After a final action is taken on a new or reissued 206
general permit, a potential applicant for the general permit 207
who can demonstrate that he or she is or may be adversely 208
affected by any permit term or condition may appeal the 209
terms and conditions of the general permit within thirty 210
days of the department's issuance of the general permit. In 211
no event shall a permit constitute permission to violate the 212
law or any standard, rule or regulation promulgated pursuant 213
thereto. Once the administrative hearing commission has 214
reviewed the appeal, the administrative hearing commission 215
shall issue a recommended decision to the commission on 216
permit issuance, denial, or any condition of the permit. 217
The commission shall issue its own decision, based on the 218
appeal, for permit issuance, denial, or any condition of the 219
permit. If the commission changes a finding of fact or 220
conclusion of law made by the administrative hearing 221
commission, or modifies or vacates the decision recommended 222
by the administrative hearing commission, it shall issue its 223
own decision, which shall include findings of fact and 224
conclusions of law. The commission shall mail copies of its 225
final decision to the parties to the appeal or their counsel 226
of record. The commission's decision shall be subject to 227
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judicial review pursuant to chapter 536, except that the 228
court of appeals district with territorial jurisdiction 229
coextensive with the county where the point source is to be 230
located shall have original jurisdiction. No judicial 231
review shall be available until and unless all 232
administrative remedies are exhausted. 233
13. In any hearing held pursuant to this section that 234
involves a permit, license, or registration, the burden of 235
proof is on the party specified in section 640.012. Any 236
decision of the commission made pursuant to a hearing held 237
pursuant to this section is subject to judicial review as 238
provided in section 644.071. 239
14. In any event, no permit issued pursuant to this 240
section shall be issued if properly objected to by the 241
federal government or any agency authorized to object 242
pursuant to any federal water pollution control act unless 243
the application does not require any permit pursuant to any 244
federal water pollution control act. 245
15. Permits may be modified, reissued, or terminated 246
at the request of the permittee. All requests shall be in 247
writing and shall contain facts or reasons supporting the 248
request. 249
16. No manufacturing or processing plant or operating 250
location shall be required to pay more than one operating 251
fee. Operating permits shall be issued for a period not to 252
exceed five years after date of issuance, except that 253
general permits shall be issued for a five-year period, and 254
also except that neither a construction nor an annual permit 255
shall be required for a single residence's waste treatment 256
facilities. Applications for renewal of a site-specific 257
operating permit shall be filed at least one hundred eighty 258
days prior to the expiration of the existing permit. 259
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Applications seeking to renew coverage under a general 260
permit shall be submitted at least thirty days prior to the 261
expiration of the general permit, unless the permittee has 262
been notified by the director that an earlier application 263
must be made. General permits may be applied for and issued 264
electronically once made available by the director. 265
17. Every permit issued to municipal or any publicly 266
owned treatment works or facility shall require the 267
permittee to provide the clean water commission with 268
adequate notice of any substantial new introductions of 269
water contaminants or pollutants into such works or facility 270
from any source for which such notice is required by 271
sections 644.006 to 644.141 or any federal water pollution 272
control act. Such permit shall also require the permittee 273
to notify the clean water commission of any substantial 274
change in volume or character of water contaminants or 275
pollutants being introduced into its treatment works or 276
facility by a source which was introducing water 277
contaminants or pollutants into its works at the time of 278
issuance of the permit. Notice must describe the quality 279
and quantity of effluent being introduced or to be 280
introduced into such works or facility by a source which was 281
introducing water contaminants or pollutants into its works 282
at the time of issuance of the permit. Notice must describe 283
the quality and quantity of effluent being introduced or to 284
be introduced into such works or facility and the 285
anticipated impact of such introduction on the quality or 286
quantity of effluent to be released from such works or 287
facility into waters of the state. 288
18. The director or the commission may require the 289
filing or posting of a bond as a condition for the issuance 290
of permits for construction of temporary or future water 291
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treatment facilities or facilities that utilize innovative 292
technology for wastewater treatment in an amount determined 293
by the commission to be sufficient to ensure compliance with 294
all provisions of sections 644.006 to 644.141, and any rules 295
or regulations of the commission and any condition as to 296
such construction in the permit. For the purposes of this 297
section, "innovative technology for wastewater treatment" 298
shall mean a completely new and generally unproven 299
technology in the type or method of its application that 300
bench testing or theory suggest has environmental, 301
efficiency, and cost benefits beyond the standard 302
technologies. No bond shall be required for designs 303
approved by any federal agency or environmental regulatory 304
agency of another state. The bond shall be signed by the 305
applicant as principal, and by a corporate surety licensed 306
to do business in the state of Missouri and approved by the 307
commission. The bond shall remain in effect until the terms 308
and conditions of the permit are met and the provisions of 309
sections 644.006 to 644.141 and rules and regulations 310
promulgated pursuant thereto are complied with. 311
19. (1) The department shall issue or deny 312
applications for construction and site-specific operating 313
permits received after January 1, 2001, within one hundred 314
eighty days of the department's receipt of an application. 315
For general construction and operating permit applications 316
received after January 1, 2001, that do not require a public 317
participation process, the department shall issue or deny 318
the permits within sixty days of the department's receipt of 319
an application. For an application seeking coverage under a 320
renewed general permit that does not require an individual 321
public participation process, the director shall issue or 322
deny the permit within sixty days of the director's receipt 323
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of the application, or upon issuance of the general permit, 324
whichever is later. In regard to an application seeking 325
coverage under an initial general permit that does not 326
require an individual public participation process, the 327
director shall issue or deny the permit within sixty days of 328
the department's receipt of the application. For an 329
application seeking coverage under a renewed general permit 330
that requires an individual public participation process, 331
the director shall issue or deny the permit within ninety 332
days of the director's receipt of the application, or upon 333
issuance of the general permit, whichever is later. In 334
regard to an application for an initial general permit that 335
requires an individual public participation process, the 336
director shall issue or deny the permit within ninety days 337
of the director's receipt of the application. 338
(2) If the department fails to issue or deny with good 339
cause a construction or operating permit application within 340
the time frames established in subdivision (1) of this 341
subsection, the department shall refund the full amount of 342
the initial application fee within forty-five days of 343
failure to meet the established time frame. If the 344
department fails to refund the application fee within forty- 345
five days, the refund amount shall accrue interest at a rate 346
established pursuant to section 32.065. 347
(3) Permit fee disputes may be appealed to the 348
commission within thirty days of the date established in 349
subdivision (2) of this subsection. If the applicant 350
prevails in a permit fee dispute appealed to the commission, 351
the commission may order the director to refund the 352
applicant's permit fee plus interest and reasonable 353
attorney's fees as provided in sections 536.085 and 354
536.087. A refund of the initial application or annual fee 355
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does not waive the applicant's responsibility to pay any 356
annual fees due each year following issuance of a permit. 357
(4) No later than December 31, 2001, the commission 358
shall promulgate regulations defining shorter review time 359
periods than the time frames established in subdivision (1) 360
of this subsection, when appropriate, for different classes 361
of construction and operating permits. In no case shall 362
commission regulations adopt permit review times that exceed 363
the time frames established in subdivision (1) of this 364
subsection. The department's failure to comply with the 365
commission's permit review time periods shall result in a 366
refund of said permit fees as set forth in subdivision (2) 367
of this subsection. On a semiannual basis, the department 368
shall submit to the commission a report which describes the 369
different classes of permits and reports on the number of 370
days it took the department to issue each permit from the 371
date of receipt of the application and show averages for 372
each different class of permits. 373
(5) During the department's technical review of the 374
application, the department may request the applicant submit 375
supplemental or additional information necessary for 376
adequate permit review. The department's technical review 377
letter shall contain a sufficient description of the type of 378
additional information needed to comply with the application 379
requirements. 380
(6) Nothing in this subsection shall be interpreted to 381
mean that inaction on a permit application shall be grounds 382
to violate any provisions of sections 644.006 to 644.141 or 383
any rules promulgated pursuant to sections 644.006 to 384
644.141. 385
20. The department shall respond to all requests for 386
individual certification under Section 401 of the Federal 387
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Clean Water Act within the lesser of sixty days or the 388
allowed response period established pursuant to applicable 389
federal regulations without request for an extension period 390
unless such extension is determined by the commission to be 391
necessary to evaluate significant impacts on water quality 392
standards and the commission establishes a timetable for 393
completion of such evaluation in a period of no more than 394
one hundred eighty days. 395
21. All permit fees generated pursuant to this chapter 396
shall not be used for the development or expansion of total 397
maximum daily loads studies on either the Missouri or 398
Mississippi rivers. 399
22. The department shall implement permit shield 400
provisions equivalent to the permit shield provisions 401
implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 402
pursuant to the Clean Water Act, Section 402(k), 33 U.S.C. 403
Section 1342(k), and its implementing regulations, for 404
permits issued pursuant to this chapter. 405
23. Prior to the development of a new general permit 406
or reissuance of a general permit for aquaculture, land 407
disturbance requiring a storm water permit, or reissuance of 408
a general permit under which fifty or more permits were 409
issued under a general permit during the immediately 410
preceding five-year period for a designated category of 411
water contaminant sources, the director shall implement a 412
public participation process complying with the following 413
minimum requirements: 414
(1) For a new general permit or reissuance of a 415
general permit, a general permit template shall be developed 416
for which comments shall be sought from permittees and other 417
interested persons prior to issuance of the general permit; 418
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(2) The director shall publish notice of his intent to 419
issue a new general permit or reissue a general permit by 420
posting notice on the department's website at least one 421
hundred eighty days before the proposed effective date of 422
the general permit; 423
(3) The director shall hold a public informational 424
meeting to provide information on anticipated permit 425
conditions and requirements and to receive informal comments 426
from permittees and other interested persons. The director 427
shall include notice of the public informational meeting 428
with the notice of intent to issue a new general permit or 429
reissue a general permit under subdivision (2) of this 430
subsection. The notice of the public informational meeting, 431
including the date, time and location, shall be posted on 432
the department's website at least thirty days in advance of 433
the public meeting. If the meeting is being held for 434
reissuance of a general permit, notice shall also be made by 435
electronic mail to all permittees holding the current 436
general permit which is expiring. Notice to current 437
permittees shall be made at least twenty days prior to the 438
public meeting; 439
(4) The director shall hold a thirty-day public 440
comment period to receive comments on the general permit 441
template with the thirty-day comment period expiring at 442
least sixty days prior to the effective date of the general 443
permit. Scanned copies of the comments received during the 444
public comment period shall be posted on the department's 445
website within five business days after close of the public 446
comment period; 447
(5) A revised draft of a general permit template and 448
the director's response to comments submitted during the 449
public comment period shall be posted on the department's 450
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website at least forty-five days prior to issuance of the 451
general permit. At least forty-five days prior to issuance 452
of the general permit the department shall notify all 453
persons who submitted comments to the department that these 454
documents have been posted to the department's website; 455
(6) Upon issuance of a new or renewed general permit, 456
the general permit shall be posted to the department's 457
website. 458
24. Notices required to be made by the department 459
pursuant to subsection 23 of this section may be made by 460
electronic mail. The department shall not be required to 461
make notice to any permittee or other person who has not 462
provided a current electronic mail address to the 463
department. In the event the department chooses to make 464
material modifications to the general permit before its 465
expiration, the department shall follow the public 466
participation process described in subsection 23 of this 467
section. 468
644.059. Agricultural nonpoint sources and 1
agricultural storm water discharges and return flows from 2
irrigated agriculture shall be exempt from permitting 3
requirements set forth in sections 644.006 to 644.141. 4
Agricultural nonpoint sources and agricultural storm water 5
discharges and return flows from irrigated agriculture shall 6
not be considered unlawful under subdivisions (1) and (2) of 7
subsection 1 of section 644.051 unless such nonpoint sources 8
and agricultural discharges or return flows have entered 9
waters of the state and have rendered such waters harmful, 10
detrimental, or injurious to public health, safety, or 11
welfare, or to industrial or agricultural uses, or to wild 12
animals, birds, or fish. For the purposes of this section, 13
agricultural nonpoint sources and agricultural storm water 14
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discharges and return flows from irrigated agriculture shall 15
include storm water and snow melt runoff, drainage, and 16
infiltration, including water that leaves land as a result 17
of the application of irrigation water, both surface and 18
subsurface, from standard farming industry practices. This 19
shall include but not be limited to cultivation and tillage 20
of soil, and production, growing, raising, and harvesting of 21
agricultural commodities and livestock. Nothing in this 22
section shall be construed to effect, limit, or supersede 23
sections 640.700 to 640.755 or any other law or regulation 24
of concentrated animal feeding operations. 25
644.083. 1. Notwithstanding any provision of law to 1
the contrary, a person who has contracted for the right to 2
store water in a reservoir owned by the United States Army 3
Corps of Engineers shall have exclusive rights to any return 4
flows generated directly or indirectly to that reservoir by 5
the person. The rights under this section shall be subject 6
to regulatory requirements imposed by the state and to the 7
availability to the person of unused storage capacity within 8
the reservoir to store such return flows. 9
2. For purposes of this section, "return flow" means 10
water that is discharged directly or indirectly to a 11
reservoir from a water reclamation facility. 12
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