The Environmental Protection Agency is scheduled today to release the public comments it received in recent months regarding its preferred plan for cleanup of the radioactively contaminated West Lake Landfill in Missouri.
The agency in February announced its “partial excavation” approach, in which it would remove soil contaminated at 52.9 picocuries per gram or more to 16 feet below ground and then place an engineered cover over the impacted area. The final version of the amended record of decision laying out the program, which updates a decade-old version that called for covering the contaminated area, is being finalized and is on track to be released in September.
Some residents near the EPA Superfund site had expressed concern in recent days that the July 5 resignation of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt might delay progress in the cleanup plan.
“Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler has been briefed multiple times on the West Lake Superfund site beginning when he was Deputy Administrator and continues to be actively engaged,” an agency spokesperson said by email Friday. “He is committed to making a sound decision and moving this site forward as it has been listed on the National Priorities List for decades.”
While the public comments should be out today, the EPA’s “responsiveness summary” – with agency responses to the comments – will be released alongside the updated record of decision.
Per a directive from Pruitt, the EPA administrator must sign off on any Superfund project that costs more than $50 million. The agency’s approach for West Lake is expected to cost $236 million.
Once the cleanup plan is finalized, the EPA will begin working with the potentially responsible parties for West Lake, who will be responsible for the remedial design and action, and paying for it. Potentially responsible parties are the Department of Energy, power company Exelon, and site owner Republic Services.
The contamination at the St. Louis-area landfill dates to 1973, when about 8,700 tons of leached barium sulfate left by the Manhattan Project was mixed with soil to cover refuse at West Lake.
