NY Senator Calls for Expedited Approach at FUSRAP’s Tonawanda Landfill

New York Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) yesterday called on the Army Corps of Engineers’ Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) to release the remediation plan for the Tonawanda Landfill while promising to push for more federal funding for the cleanup program. USACE had said it would develop a feasibility study for remediation at the site by the end of 2014, but no study or plan has yet emerged. “The radioactive waste sitting underneath the Tonawanda Landfill is a hotbed for potential danger, and it is time to get a plan in place to mitigate the risk.” Schumer said in a statement. “Tonawanda residents deserve a plan ASAP that will once and for all get remnants of the first atomic bomb out of their backyards. The Army Corps has done an excellent job monitoring the risk at the site, but their most recent assessment made it clear that the Landfill needs to be cleaned up soon or else it could pose a serious risk to people’s health.”

 

The Tonawanda Landfill represents one of five FUSRAP sites in Western New York, a cluster that did not escape Schumer’s attention. Schumer promised to fight for additional funding for the program during the new Congress. “We have five radioactive sites in Western New York – all of which could eventually pose a threat to nearby residents – and in order to clean them all up before they become a serious problem, we must secure more funding for the FUSRAP program,” Schumer said. “In this next Congress, I will make it clear to my colleagues how important this is for Western New York and will fight tooth and nail to ensure that increasing FUSRAP funding is a priority.”