April 23, 2024

By Melissa Harmer
Communications Manager

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – In a vote of 121-25, the Missouri House of Representatives approved House Bill 1751, sponsored by Rep. Mike Haffner (R-Pleasant Hill). The legislation prohibits the Missouri Department of Natural Resources from issuing a permit for the operation of a landfill designed to serve Kansas City, Missouri, without the approval of an adjoining municipality’s governing body if that landfill site is located within one mile of the adjoining municipality.

“We extend our most sincere gratitude to the lawmakers who supported and championed this legislation,” Raymore Mayor Kris Turnbow said. “This measure ensures our community is protected from a threat that would have had negative impacts for generations.”

The successful passage of HB 1751 was contingent on a mutually beneficial agreement between the City of Raymore and the developer of the proposed landfill. The Raymore City Council unanimously approved the agreement during a special meeting April 15.

The bill was approved by a 24-7 vote in the Missouri Senate April 17. HB 1751 was amended in the Senate to include language adding solid waste processing facilities, demolition landfills and sanitary landfills among developments the adjoining municipality would need to approve prior to permitting.

“We are glad the developer was willing to negotiate with us to find a healthier and more productive use for this property,” Turnbow said. “This is a victory for the health and well-being of our community.”

For more than a year and a half, the City of Raymore led regional efforts to stop the proposed landfill.

“Our internal team worked together brilliantly, fashioning multiple plans to defeat the landfill,” Turnbow said. “Ultimately, we could not have defeated this threat without our residents, supportive neighboring municipalities and organizations and a long list of bipartisan lawmakers at all levels of our government.”

The bill now heads to Gov. Mike Parson for his signature signing it into law. The governor has 15 days to act on a bill that is delivered to him during the legislative session.

Learn more about Raymore’s landfill opposition at www.raymore.com/nolandfill