City of Nevada to pay fine for violating Missouri Clean Water Law

The Nevada City Council held a special session meeting Tuesday evening to hear an update from the Moore-Few Care Center, as well as consider a resolution on an Abatement Order of Consent (AOC) by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Moore-Few Care Center (MFCC) Administrator Crystal Layman gave the presentation to the council. Layman noted that she started in the position on Feb. 24, and by March 3 she had a solution on how to separate Long-Term Care from Nevada Regional Medical Center (NRMC). She noted that by separating from the hospital, MFCC will see a savings of $60,000 a month and $270,000 yearly. For more in-depth coverage of the presentation, see Friday's edition of the Nevada Daily Mail.

In new business, Nevada City Manager Mark Mitchell explained Resolution No. 1712. This resolution is a formal administrative action by the state of Missouri and is being issued because the City of Nevada violated the Missouri Clean Water Law. On April 5, 2022, Department staff conducted a site investigation in response to an environmental concern regarding a line break in the City’s collection system. Department staff were informed by the property owner that the event had been reported to the City on April 3, 2022. However, City staff did not address the sewer overflow until April 4, 2022. The City further explained their decision not to pump and haul the waste away was because the pump truck could not access the spill. New policies, procedures and staff training were implemented to ensure future compliance. Mitchell noted that the violation results in a $8,000 fine. With a motion and a second, the council unanimously passed the resolution.