Former owner of Visionary Bowling Products LLC, John S. Wonders Sr., and senior officer Jason Wonders have been criminally charged for unlawfully storing hazardous waste at their closed Jennings manufacturing facility, federal prosecutors announced. According to KSDK, the charges allege that the Wonders failed to properly dispose of hazardous materials after stopping operations in 2019 at the facility located at 9709 Xograph Ave.
The charges are related to a 2021 fire that forced evacuations and created a hazardous materials situation due to the burning of chemicals left on site. As stated by First Alert 4, the fire burned for over 12 hours, leading to shelter-in-place orders for local schools and requiring multiple fire departments to put it out. The investigation revealed hundreds of deteriorating containers of industrial materials at the facility.
Authorities began to take notice when the City of Jennings acquired the property in July 2018 due to unpaid property taxes. After the manufacturing shutdown, John and Jason Wonders were expected to vacate the property by October 2019, but hazardous waste was reportedly left behind. "Warrants have been issued Thursday for both John and Jason Wonders," as KSDK noted, with an initial court date yet to be set.
The situation escalated to a federal level after the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and federal investigators found the abandoned waste. "Members of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources hazardous waste enforcement team visited the site on Nov. 9, 2021. They observed hundreds of abandoned containers in various stages of decay and deterioration in the building," FOX 2 Now reported. The Department of Natural Resources requested federal assistance to secure and remove the containers, which resulted in charges against the Wonders for their alleged failure to comply with hazardous waste storage regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
