Missouri Senator Hawley promises EPA head will visit radioactive sites in St. Louis
EPA continues cleanup on West Lake, Hawley promises potential EPA head will come see
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - Josh Hawley, the Republican senator from Missouri, says he has secured a commitment to have the possible head of the Environmental Protection Agency visit the West Lake Landfill Superfund site in Missouri.
The EPA has been working on contamination plans and the Superfund site for decades. West Lake has ties to the Manhattan Project and the nuclear program of the Second World War.
On X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, the senator stated that Lee Zeldin “pledged to me he would finally start EPA’s cleanup of the West Lake Landfill,” and continued to say Zeldin would “stop the EPA’s constant lies to the public about the radiation there.”
Senator Hawley further said that Zeldin would “visit the site in person ASAP.” Hawley stated he s Zeldin’s confirmation to lead the federal agency which handles all sorts of environmental disasters.
It comes less than a week after Sen. Hawley reintroduced legislation to compensate those exposed to radiation from government nuclear programs -- which has a long history in the St. Louis area dating back to the Second World War.
WEST LAKE LANDFILL
The situation around the West Lake Landfill has been tracked by First Alert 4 for quite some time.
As First Alert 4 previously reported, the EPA announced that the price tag to clean up West Lake Landfill had grown to nearly $400 million. The reason given was that soil sampling found the contamination was more widespread than previously known.
A letter sent in response from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to the EPA is causing concern. The letter, dated January 15, is from deputy director Jake Buxton to EPA project manager, Christine Jump and contains the phrase, “The high probability of radiological material in the Bridgeton Landfill.”
Pattonville Fire Protection District Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Stuhlman responded to the letter by saying, “That’s a very troubling statement.”
West Lake Landfill is an EPA Superfund Site where radioactive waste from the Manhattan Project was illegally dumped in the 1970s. Bridgeton Landfill sits beside it and was mainly a municipal landfill, but has been closed for years.
LEE ZELDIN
Zeldin is a former U.S. Representative for New York and an attorney. His nomination moved forward last week in a vote 11-8 by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
In November of last year, President Donald Trump expressed his for Zeldin. In that statement, Mr. Trump said he had known Zeldin for a long time, and he would be a “great contributor!”
A number of organizations and congressmen have raised questions about Zeldin’s background on environmental issues, health for humans and environment, and his thoughts on regulation.
RADIATION EXPOSURE COMPENSATION ACT
RECA would provide a lump sum compensation to certain claims. It would involve a number of states, workers, citizens and other groups that were directly impacted by nuclear research and work from the 20th century.
The Congressional Research Service compiled some details on the previous version of the bill in 2022.
The current RECA legislation is ed by Democratic Senator Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico; Republican congressman Eric Schmitt of Missouri and Democrat congressman Mark Kelly of Arizona.
Hawley’s office previously put out a release saying the legislation was proposed again as new reports suggest that radioactive waste concerns in St. Louis are much more widespread than believed.
The previous push to enact RECA did not the House of Representative before the deadline.
“The time to reauthorize RECA is now. The Senate has done this twice before and must do it again. For far too long, Missourians and others across America have suffered without compensation from their government. It is vital that we unite to this legislation now, and that the President sign it into law,” Hawley said in a statement.
“In New Mexico and across the country, thousands sacrificed to contribute to our national security. Today, individuals affected by nuclear weapons testing, downwind radiation exposure, and uranium mining are still waiting to receive the justice they are owed,” said Senator Luján.
Avery Martinez covers water, ag & the environment for First Alert 4. He is also a Report for America corps member, as well as a member of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk. His coverage goes from corn farms to hunting concerns, and local water rates to rancher mental health.
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