Missouri delves into stinky situation – Garbage Into Oil – How to turn garbage into fuel revisited

DNR officials keep meeting on odors behind closed doors

Complaints by Carthage residents about foul odors emanating from an experimental rendering plant have reached the highest levels of state government, but some people are still skeptical about whether anything will be done.

Doyle Childers, director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, met Friday at the Carthage Memorial Hall with industry and city officials as well as state Sen. Gary Nodler, R-Joplin, about the issue.

But instead of an airing of the issue in public, the public was kept out the meeting behind closed doors.

Childers said his staff had been planning the meeting for some time after the Easter holiday, but encouragement from Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt prompted him to move the meeting up to this week.

"Gov. Blunt called us and asked us what was going on," Childers said after Friday’s closed-door meeting. "We prepared a briefing paper for him based on the reports we had, and he asked us to get this meeting together."

By John Hacker

Globe Staff Writer

Full Story: http://www.joplinglobe.com/archives/story.php?story_id=92685

For the original story about this effort: Garbage Into Oil – How to turn garbage into fuel. http://www.matr.net/news.phtml?newsid=6837