Related Link: Missouri's Impaired Waters List
Every two years, state officials compile a list of impaired waterways and submit the list to the environmental protection agency. The federal clean water act requires states to make the list. It's designed to make sure all waterways in the country are monitored. John Ford is an environmental specialist with the Missouri department of natural resources. He explains why a body of water is placed on the impaired list.
After ford and others in the department create the impaired waters list, it goes before Missouri's clean water commission. After gaining the commission's approval, the list goes to the e-p-a. It's then up to the federal agency to issue guidelines on cleaning up the impaired waterways in each state. Ford explains how that process works.
Ford says there are several bodies of water in southwest Missouri that are on the impaired waters list.
The last time Missouri compiled an impaired waters list was in 1998. Ford says he wants to remove a few bodies of water from that list but most will remain on the list for this year. He says it takes 6 to 11 years to clean-up an impaired lake or stream. The public is invited to comment on the impaired waters list'you can view that by going to the k-s-m-u website'click on the link for web addresses mentioned on k-s-m-u. The final public meeting on impaired waterways will be held October 25th from 4 to 8p-m in Jefferson city.