EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced Thursday a proposed plan to partially excavate radioactive waste at a notorious Superfund site northwest of St. Louis, Mo.
Pruitt proposes to remove the majority of radioactive material at the West Lake landfill within five years. The EPA also plans to place a permanent cap, or cover system, over the site for long-term protection. The EPA expects the plan to cost $236 million over five years.
EPA’s decision will be subject to the public comment process before being finalized.
“The people of the St. Louis region deserve clarity and answers with respect to the remediation of the West Lake Landfill,” Pruitt said. “I promised them an answer, and today I am making good on that commitment. This decision demonstrates my vision for the Superfund program. Through leadership and responsiveness to communities, we will make decisions that protect public health, comply with the law, and hold potentially responsible parties accountable.”
The West Lake landfill is one of the most high-profile Superfund sites in the country, staying on the National Priorities List since 1990.
The National Priorities List includes more than 1,300 locations that most urgently need cleanup of toxic chemicals.
West Lake made the list for containing thousands of tons of radioactive waste from the development of nuclear weapons during the World War II-era Manhattan Project.
Residents and local activists have pushed the EPA for full excavation and removal of radioactive waste at the site.
One local environmental group said Thursday that Pruitt’s proposed action is not sufficient.
“Partial removal is not acceptable,” said the Missouri Coalition for the Environment. “It means high levels of radioactivity will be left behind with the potential for water or airborne contamination into the future, creating unnecessary long-term risks to the St. Louis region.”
The landfill operators, Republic Services and Exelon Corp., prefer the less costly “capping” method, rather than excavation. Pruitt’s proposed plan falls in the middle of those two options.
Under the EPA's proposed plan, those companies would be responsible for paying for the cleanup at West Lake, along with the Department of Energy.
Speeding up the cleanup of Superfund sites has been one of Pruitt’s main goals. He has said he is cleaning up hazardous sites faster than his predecessors, recently announcing the EPA had removed all or parts of seven Superfund sites from the National Priorities List, meaning no further cleanup is needed at them.
But the EPA in previous years achieved similar or higher cleanup records. The EPA removed seven sites from the priority list in 2015, 15 sites in 2014 and 12 sites in 2013.