January 11, 2016

West Lake Owner Weighs in on EPA Barrier

By ExchangeMonitor

Republic Services, owner of the West Lake Superfund site, said late last week that it remains “ready” as the Environmental Protection Agency moves forward with plans to build an isolation barrier at the landfill meant to prevent a nearby underground fire from reaching nuclear waste material.

Republic Services spokesman Richard Callow weighed in on the matter via email Friday, saying, “The company’s comment on construction of an isolation barrier remains the same: ‘Ready.’”

The EPA has regarded the barrier as a “top priority,” for both the community and the agency, in mitigating potential impacts from he smoldering fire at the adjacent Bridgeton Landfill in Bridgeton, Mo. The agency is working on plans for the barrier.

The Missouri Coalition for the Environment citizens’ group and lawmakers have criticized the EPA’s 25-year cleanup effort at the site. Last week, Ed Smith, the coalition’s safe energy director, questioned whether the barrier is the best plan of action, arguing that removal of waste material should be the priority. He also called Republic Services actions in opposition to the community’s efforts “deplorable.”

Callow wrote that the barrier will reassure landfill neighbors, whether it’s necessary or not. He also cited a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article from 2013, in which Smith called the barrier “a good first step,” but ultimately said “full removal (of the waste) is the only option for long-term safety.”

“His opposition to construction of a barrier that, necessary or not, would reassure many of the neighbors, was not nearly as strong in 2013," Callow stated.

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