Douglas County recently resolved issues with a junk-yard
operator near Sedalia, said county zoning compliance official Jerry
Dortch.
Chuck Myers accepted construction debris from 1996-2000 on a
site at U.S. 85 and Titan Road. The county tried unsuccessfully to
close the dump in 1997. The county said a permit was needed to
receive the industrial trash.
In December 2000, debris at the unauthorized site caught fire.
For several days, crews from South Metro Fire and Rescue fought the
blaze. The site was shut down as water tankers were brought in.
Heavy-equipment operators at the site helped fire crews spread out
the debris pile, which burst into flames as it was exposed to the
air.
After serving 10 days in jail, Myers cleared the lot near Plum
Creek, Dortch said. He moved debris to two 160-acre sites nearby,
which the county did not issue permits for either. Part of the
agreement was that Myers could not shift the debris to another site
in the county. Myers then cleaned up both sites, Dortch
said.
In the fastest-growing county in the nation, construction debris
removal remains an issue.
There has been another possible violator who accepted debris
without a permit, Dortch said. The county is following up on the
site.
A different company’s application for another construction
debris landfill north of Sedalia is being reviewed by the
county.
The proposed site is north of the Intermountain Rural Electric
Association building on the east side of U.S. 85.
No public hearing date regarding the landfill is set yet, but
the potential operators said no household trash would be accepted
at the site, except for recyclable materials.
The court fines Myers must pay, about $28,000, will go to the
state court system, not to the county, Dortch said.