U.S. Senator Josh Hawley | Official U.S. Senate headshot
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley | Official U.S. Senate headshot
Ahead of the initial Senate vote to advance Lee Zeldin as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley from Missouri has secured a commitment from Zeldin to address the West Lake Landfill Superfund site in Bridgeton, Missouri.
"For years, the EPA has dragged their feet and refused to clean up the West Lake Landfill. And Missourians have been left to suffer. I was happy to hear Lee Zeldin commit to changing the failed status quo, if confirmed as EPA Administrator," said Senator Hawley. "He's committed to visiting the West Lake Landfill site, to finally start cleanup – and get it finished. This is a tremendous step in the right direction. And now we must pass RECA."
The West Lake Landfill Superfund site contains radioactive contamination dating back from the Manhattan Project era. In the 1960s, a company hired by the federal government disposed of this waste originating from a processing facility in St. Louis at the landfill in 1973 without proper remediation measures being taken. The EPA currently holds jurisdiction over this site.
Senator Hawley's proposal aimed at expanding and reauthorizing the RECA program has twice passed through the Senate with strong bipartisan support. Last week, he reintroduced his proposal for compensating victims of nuclear radiation.
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