The Missouri Department of Natural Resources invites the public to review and offer written comments on a draft hazardous waste permit for the Bannister Complex facility until Aug. 4, 2025. During the public comment period, anyone can request a public meeting or public hearing about the draft permit. For more information, please contact Michael Koestner.
The Bannister Complex, formerly the Bannister Federal Complex, is located at 1500-2012 E. Bannister Road in Kansas City, Missouri. From 1942 until November 2017, the property was a federal government-owned, contractor-operated military installation. Historically, the facility was used to build aircraft engines for the Navy and later manufacture non-nuclear components of nuclear weapons. The site is considered a closed hazardous waste storage and disposal facility. Two lagoons and an underground tank farm were operated on part of the property. Releases from the underground tank farm, a trichloroethylene reclamation facility, a plating building and other industrial practices resulted in soil and groundwater contamination. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency accepted the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) closure report and certification for the hazardous waste management units; however, because groundwater contaminated with hazardous constituents remained after closure, these areas were required to go through a period of post-closure care.
Bannister Transformation & Development LLC (BT&D) and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) currently are conducting post-closure and corrective action activities on their respective portions of the site under a department-issued Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Facility Part 1 Permit and EPA-issued Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments Part 2 Permit, which expired Oct. 6, 2009. The existing hazardous waste permits were continued in effect, as allowed by Code of State Regulations 10 CSR 25-7.270(1) and Code of Federal Regulations 40 C.F.R. § 270.51, until the department and EPA issue or deny new hazardous waste permits.
On July 17, 2024, the current site owners replaced the original 2009 renewal application with a new application. After a thorough technical review of the permit application, the department prepared a draft Part I Permit for the Bannister Complex facility. EPA decided not to prepare a Part 2 Permit, since EPA has no site-specific conditions for the facility, beyond those contained in the draft Part 1 Permit, and Missouri is fully authorized for all permitting, post-closure and corrective action activities at the facility. The draft Part 1 Permit requires BT&D to continue monitoring the groundwater and maintain the caps over the closed hazardous waste management units. The continued Part 2 Permit will remain in effect until the department issues a new Part 1 Permit.
The pubic can review an electronic copy of the draft permit and a fact sheet below. Paper copies of the complete permit application, draft permit and supporting documents are available during normal business hours at the Mid-Continent Public Library's Blue Ridge Branch, 9253 Blue Ridge Blvd., Kansas City, MO, during their normal business hours, or the department's, Elm Street Conference Center, Jefferson City, MO. An Open Records/ Sunshine Law Request will need to be submitted to review or obtain copies of the department's files.
Comments on the draft permit are more effective if they point out legal or technical issues or provide information that is not in the record. Written comments on the draft permit may be submitted by mail to Michael Koestner, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Waste Management Program, P.O. Box 176, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0176 or by email to michael.koestner@dnr.mo.gov. The department will review and respond to all written comments and questions received during the public comment period before a final decision is made.