Construction or use of a waste disposal well
It is against the law to build or use a waste disposal well — a hole or underground space used to dump liquid or semi-liquid waste. There are exceptions, like septic tanks, cesspools at homes, certain oil and gas operations, some groundwater heat pumps, and certain mining backfill work. If someone breaks this law, each day it continues counts as a separate offense, and the crime is a class A misdemeanor.
Classifications stated in the statute. Actual outcomes vary.
577.155. Construction or use of a — definitions — . — 1. A person, firm, or commits the of construction or use of a waste disposal well if such person, firm, corporation, or political subdivision constructs or uses a waste disposal well.
2. As used in this section, "waste disposal well" means any or cavity, natural or artificial, used for the disposal of liquid or semi-aqueous except as excluded in 3 of this section.
3. "Waste disposal well" shall not include:
(1) Sanitary landfills or surface mining pits used for the disposal of as defined in section 64.460;
(2) Cesspools used solely for disposal of waste from private residences; or
(3) Septic tanks used solely for disposal of waste.
4. It shall not be a violation of this section to:
(1) Inject or fluids into in connection with oil or gas operations regulated by the state oil and gas council chapter 259;
(2) Inject or return water into subsurface formations pursuant to chapter 644 and section 192.020 in connection with the following instances:
(a) Any groundwater heat pump injection/withdrawal well that is limited to a single family residence;
(b) Any groundwater heat pump injection/withdrawal well that is limited to eight or less single family residences as long as the combined injection/withdrawal rate is less than six hundred thousand per hour;
(c) All other uses of groundwater heat pump injection/withdrawal wells shall be subject to a permitting procedure as established and regulated by the ; or
(3) Backfill cavities as an integral part of the mining operation with or other obtained from that operation to either reduce accumulation of waste on the surface or to provide additional ground support in the mined-out areas or to inundate such cavities with water devoid of toxic liquid wastes, but the person, firm, or corporation who so backfills may not do so without the of the owner of the property to be backfilled.
5. The offense of construction or use of a waste disposal well is a . Each day of violation constitutes a separate offense.
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Source & history notes
(L. 1971 H.B. 189 §§ 1 to 5, A.L. 1976 S.B. 851, A.L. 1980 H.B. 1614, A.L. 2014 S.B. 491) Effective 1-01-17
Legal information, not legal advice. Always confirm with the official source at revisor.mo.gov.