Group lobbies for soil tax renewal

Whether people are from the country or the city, it’s a bet they enjoy a cold glass of clean water.

It was one of the points stressed on Tuesday by the Citizens’ Committee for Soil, Water and State Parks at a news conference in Jefferson City to kick off the campaign for the renewal of a parks-and-soil sales tax meant to keep Missouri’s water clean.

Committee members tried to emphasize that urban residents benefited as much as farmers from the sales tax, which is on the Aug. 8 ballot.

The sales tax, which is one-tenth of one cent, was passed in 1984 for the basic maintenance of state parks and agricultural land to ensure clean water and to cover the upkeep of parks and the prevention of soil erosion.

The sales tax generates roughly $82 million each year, half of which is given to state parks and half to soil conservation and clean water programs. The tax covers 75 percent of park and land maintenance costs.

“There are two or three ways people will be affected by this tax; there are indirectly and directly,” said Columbia Mayor Darwin Hindman, committee co-chair. . “When it comes to soil and water conservation, cities benefit from an adequate food supply that’s coming from rural areas and clean water for health and nutritional reasons. That’s an indirect way.”

Hindman said the tax directly affects urban residents because it helps maintain parks people visit for recreational enjoyment.

“People need to be able to enjoy the natural resources of the state,” he said.

There are two state parks near Columbia: Finger Lakes State Park and Rock Bridge Memorial State Park.

Estil Fretwell of Missouri Farm Bureau said 70 percent of the people who use state parks are urban residents.

According to the committee, Missouri’s state parks serve 17 million visitors every year and draw in $538 million annually to Missouri’s economy.

Farmers must apply to participate in soil and erosion projects and provide a varying portion of the funds, depending on the project, with the state paying for a portion of the cost. Fretwell said most projects involve building terraces and structures that direct the flow of water from land after rains to prevent erosion.

Before the tax was approved in 1984, Missouri’s soil erosion rate was the second highest in the nation. But in the years since, the state’s erosion rate has been cut in half and is declining faster than any other state.

The hope is that by implementing projects aimed at reducing the flow of sediment into streams, water quality throughout the state will improve.

“Rural areas benefit from the tax under soil and water projects,” said Don Fisher, who also co-chairs the committee. “But it’s not only a benefit for farmers, but for food buyers across the country.”

Fisher said clean water was important, but not only for drinking,

“Isn’t it nice to have clean streams to look at in our parks?” he said. “Isn’t it nice for families not to tell their children to not go in the muddy water? Not everyone uses our parks, but it’s nice to have them.”

Fretwell said the conference was the start of a grass roots effort to campaign for the renewal of the sales tax and to bring the ballot issue to people’s attention early.

“We’re just trying to spread the word,” he said. “If it passes in August, the tax will go on the ballot every 10 years. We want it that way, to bring it back to the people and be accountable for our projects. We want to give people the opportunity to decide.”