Permits Needed for Water Company/ Utility Businesses

If you or your business plans to transport hazardous waste including waste oil, explosives, gases, flammable and combustible liquids, flammable solids, oxidizers and organic peroxides, poisons, radioactive materials, corrosives or infectious waste, you must obtain a Hazardous/ Infectious Waste Transporter License.

If your business plans to engage in surface mining of industrial minerals such as sand, gravel, limestone, dolomite, clay or other construction aggregates, you may need an Industrial Mineral Mines Permit – In-stream Sand and Gravel Mining to engage in surface mining.

If your business is a no-discharge, private or domestic wastewater treatment facility with design flows of less than 50,000 gallons per day and land apply the wastewater, design flows of less than 50,000 gallons per day and plan to land apply the wastewater, you must obtain a Land Application of Domestic Wastewater MOG823000 master general permit.

If you or your business is capable of producing 100,000 gallons per day, or approximately 70 gallons per minute, including all wells or surface intakes, you are required to register with the department as a Major Water User. This registration is not for permitting purposes or to regulate water usage. Major water users are required by law to report the volume of water they used by March 31 of the year following the usage. Registration is required in order to submit reports.

The Major Water Users Program is established to simply gather water use data. Missouri collects water use data to better understand and manage the state’s water inventory. For more information, or to complete the online registration, please visit the Major Water Users webpage.

If your business plans to remove topsoil and other soil material to expose the mineral commodity, you may need an Industrial Minerals Mines Permit - Open Pit Mining. Industrial mineral open pit mine sites range in size from one acre sand and gravel pits to 1,000 acre limestone sites.

If your business plans to construct a public water system that will supply drinking water to the public, you must obtain a Public Drinking Water Construction Permit. You must obtain this permit if you also plan to complete the following construction projects to the water system: waterline extensions, waterline replacements, drilling water supply well, construction a storage tank, adding a disinfection system, treatment changes, building a pump station or other improvements or modifications. A public water system has at least 15 service connections or serves at least 25 people at least 60 days out of the year. If your business plans to connect to a permitted public water system, then you are not required to obtain this permit.

Construction of new public water systems and expansions, alterations, or modifications of an existing public water system must conform to the department’s Design Standards. If your public water system would like to request an exception to these standards, you will need to submit a Public Water Systems Design Standards Exception Request. 

If your public water system is faced with a critical situation such as currently out of water, drought, flooding, storm damage or other natural disaster and are in need of making emergency construction repairs, you may need to apply for a Public Water Systems Emergency Exception Request.

If your business plans to operate a public water system that supplies drinking water to the public, you must obtain a Public Drinking Water Permit to Dispense. A public water system has at least 15 service connections or serves at least 25 people at least 60 days out of the year. If your business plans to connect to a permitted public water system, then you are not required to obtain this permit.

If you want to treat, store or dispose of hazardous remediation waste at a remediation waste management site in Missouri, you may be required to follow a Remedial Action Plan. The plan lists conditions about how to treat, store or dispose of hazardous remediation waste.

If your business plans to build a facility where solid wastes are transferred from one container to another or are processed, you are required to apply for a Solid Waste Processing Facility Construction Permit. Types of processing facilities include incinerator, compost plant, infectious waste, transfer station and material recovery, with or without composting.

If your business plans to operate a facility where solid wastes are transferred from one container to another or are processed, you are required to apply for a Solid Waste Processing Facility Operating Permit. Types of processing facilities include incinerator, compost plant, infectious waste, transfer station and material recovery, with or without composting.

Missouri solid waste disposal areas and solid waste processing facilities designated by rule, must be operated under the direction of a certified solid waste technician. For more information, please visit the department's Solid Waste Technician Certification webpage.