The owners of a rural track for mud races and truck pulls faced new arguments against their business last Thursday during a contentious hearing before the Warren County Commission. 

This is far from the first round of hearings over the operation of Hickory Ridge Motorsport Park, owned by George and Dana Heath. But at a gathering Jan. 9, opponents added water pollution and danger to spectators to their list of objections.

Residents along Highway B are fighting a decision to loosen restrictions on the number of events and spectators at the track, which is located about 7 miles southwest of Pendleton. Although neighbors’ primary concerns are noise disturbance and increased traffic, new lawyers for the group brought new objections to the table.

Describing vehicles at the track as “monster trucks,” attorney Neil Bruntrager argued that driving the vehicles through mud, spraying them down and doing engine maintenance would all cause petroleum pollution.

“What happens to that petroleum residue? It runs onto the ground (and) goes into groundwater,” Bruntrager said. “Every one of the homes that is on Highway B is on a well. If (petroleum) goes into the groundwater, it goes into their wells.”

Bruntrager also argued that the Heaths should be required to obtain a land disturbance permit from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources before operating the track, and that the track is too far from fire and ambulance bases to provide adequate emergency services.

Fellow attorney William Goldstein presented the commission with news articles from around the country detailing deadly accidents at motorsport facilities.

“These mud bogs ... are death traps. You don’t have to go far to find out that people have died in great numbers over the years in these mud runs,” Goldstein stated. 

He argued that the current permit for Hickory Ridge doesn’t require safety procedures, such as the presence of emergency personnel or preventing the sale of alcohol to racers. 

“These are safety concerns that are (the county commission’s) responsibility, making sure that they’re in place now, not when someone dies,” Goldstein said.

George Heath, for his part, said his organization has already operated four events in 2019 without any safety or environmental concerns. He said drivers are marked with a wrist band so they can’t purchase alcohol and spectators are protected by a fence and concrete barriers. 

“We have given our best effort to comply with any conditional use permit that was issued by the county. I think we went above and beyond on any safety issues,” Heath commented.

The Heaths have faced multiple legal challenges from nearby residents over the motorsports track since it was approved in 2016. Their first events were held last year.

The county commission adjourned the Jan. 9 hearing without a decision, stating they would deliver a ruling Jan. 23.