Scattering Ashes in Illinois, Missouri and Kansas

There is no single law about scattering ashes in Illinois, Missouri or Kansas. What governs it is whose land or water you are standing on: a federal rule covers the ocean, the National Park Service decides park by park, Illinois state parks issue a written permit, and on private land the answer is the owner's. Most of the planning is about permission, not paperwork. You do not need to decide any of this quickly.

This guide sets out what is actually written down, and says plainly where nothing is. If you are holding ashes now, nothing here has a deadline attached.

Do you need permission to scatter ashes?

On land or water you do not own, assume yes, and find out whose permission. Kansas's state board of mortuary arts puts the general position for private land clearly: although there are no specific state laws that address this issue, the best thing to do is to get permission to do this from the landowner of the property you have in mind. It adds that the owners of adjoining property are worth a thought too.

On your own land, the practical questions are the ones neighbours ask: where exactly, how visible, and whether anything will be left behind. Nothing in these three states requires a scattering to be recorded, which also means nobody else will know it happened unless you tell them.

What are the rules for scattering ashes at sea?

The federal rule is specific. Under the EPA's burial-at-sea rule, cremated remains shall be buried in or on ocean waters of any depth provided that such burial takes place at least three nautical miles from land, and you must notify the EPA of the burial at sea within 30 days following the event. Reporting is done after the fact, not before, and there is no permit to apply for.

Flowers can go too, within limits: the rule allows those consisting of materials that are readily decomposable in the marine environment to be placed at the burial site. Non-decomposable objects are not covered by that allowance.

Can you scatter ashes in a river or lake in the Midwest?

Inland water is a different regime. The EPA says scattering of cremated remains in lakes, rivers, or other inland waters is not subject to federal regulation under the MPRSA, the ocean dumping law, and that states may authorize burials in inland waters, including rivers, lakes and bays, under state law and/or under the Clean Water Act.

That means the question moves to whoever manages the water: a state agency, a park, a reservoir authority, a municipality, or a private owner. None of the three states publishes a general scattering statute for rivers and lakes, so ask the manager of the specific place rather than looking for a state rule that settles it everywhere.

What does Illinois require in a state park?

Illinois is the one state of the three with a published permit form for this. Its Department of Natural Resources permit for scattering cremated human remains asks for the request two weeks prior to the proposed scattering date and is approved by the site superintendent or an authorized representative.

The conditions on the form are specific. Scattering must be out of sight of any public use areas and at least 200 feet from any lake, watercourse or creek bed. Certain places are excluded, including state historic sites, state memorials and Illinois Nature Preserves. And nothing stays behind: no container, urn, cross, symbol or memorial markers of any kind may be left, including flowers and memorial trees.

What about national parks?

The National Park Service decides this park by park, through each park's superintendent's compendium, so the answer at one park tells you nothing about another. Some parks allow it without a permit: the Blue Ridge Parkway's compendium, an example from outside the Midwest, states that the scattering of human ashes from cremation, without a permit, is allowed under the following terms and conditions and then lists them.

Others require one. Rocky Mountain National Park, another example outside these three states, says a permit is required to scatter ashes in Rocky Mountain National Park and that there is no charge for the permit. For a park in Illinois, Missouri or Kansas, call that park and ask for its compendium; PartingPoint could not find a published scattering provision for the parks in these three states.

Where do Missouri and Kansas mention scattering at all?

Mostly in the rules about remains nobody claimed, which tells you scattering is a recognized form of disposition rather than an exception. Missouri's statute on unclaimed cremated remains lists scattering, burying, or interring the unclaimed cremated remains in a scatter garden or pond, columbarium or other place formally dedicated for such purpose. Kansas's equivalent allows burial by placing the remains in a church or cemetery plot, scatter garden, pond or columbarium, while excluding unclaimed veterans' remains from scattering.

A scatter garden at a cemetery is worth knowing about for a different reason: it gives a place to return to. If that matters to someone in the family, a cemetery scatter garden, a bench or a marker elsewhere, or keeping a small portion of the ashes are all ways to have both.

What can you do next?

Decide the place first, then ask one question of whoever manages it: do you allow scattering, and do you require anything in writing. If the place is an Illinois state park, start two weeks ahead. If it is the ocean, note the 30-day report. If it is family land, have the conversation with whoever will own it next.

There is no deadline on any of this. Cremated remains can stay in their container for a year while a family decides where they belong, and it is a reasonable thing to do.