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The EPA originally aimed to have a decision on a cleanup plan for the radiologically contaminated site identified by the end of 2016.
On Thursday, EPA officials, joined in Bridgeton by representatives of other state and federal agencies involved with the Superfund site, told residents that a decision on a cleanup strategy is at least several months away.
EPA officials say they have spent most of this year reviewing two documents prepared by the entities identified as “potentially responsible parties” ultimately liable for the site’s cleanup. Those entities include landfill operator, Republic Services; the U.S. Department of Energy; the energy corporation, Exelon, and its former subsidiary, Cotter Corp., a uranium mining company.
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A deadline for the new decision has yet to come into focus, though Washburn said he expects one in “months, not years.” A presentation included in Thursday’s meeting showed the agency hopes to have completed the next phase of the process — reviewing and commenting on the feasibility study — by October.
Some community members at the meeting said they are worried that the EPA is done testing the landfill to map areas of contamination — a step they feel is incomplete without comprehensive grid testing across the site.
“Without an entire grid testing of the complex, the community is not satisfied,” said Doug Clemens, a founding member and former chair of the West Lake Community Advisory Group, a volunteer organization.
Read more at EPA updates public on cleanup plans for West Lake Landfill
