The City of Platte City is in receipt of a notice of violation for open burning, issued by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
As exclusively reported by The Landmark last week, the city is being issued the citation for the burning of construction materials at Platte Ridge Park north of Platte City along Hwy. 371. Through an agreement with Platte County, the city parks department is in charge of maintenance at the park, which is owned by the county.
The citation, issued to city parks and recreation director Dannie Stamper, says during an investigation a burn pile was observed on the north side of the maintenance shed.
“Items observed in the burn pile included metal binding strips, wire rope, metal containers, barbed wire, and reinforced plastic composites.”
It is not yet known whether the city will face a fine in conjunction with this violation. That decision will be made by the DNR’s air pollution control program.
Trees, brush and limbs can be burned but DNR regulations prohibit the open burning of refuse. That regulation has been in place since May 1, 1969, the DNR reports.
Stamper recently told The Landmark, without elaborating: “My department didn’t start that fire or put it out.”
It’s the second notice of burning violation in recent months for the city. Back in June, public works director Leonard Hendricks was cited by DNR for burning of plastic trash and other waste, including mattresses, near the city’s compost pile at Riverview Park. There was no fine in that instance because it was the city’s first offense, reports Karl Fett, regional director for DNR.
“We would never allow burning of that kind of waste,” Fett said.