The new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is scheduled to visit St. Louis Monday. U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, told Missourinet that part of Lee Zeldin’s visit will include a stop at West Lake Landfill in St. Louis County.
“He’s going to talk for himself with local residents who have been poisoned, literally poisoned by the government’s nuclear radiation, and understand that the EPA has got to move forward. No more delays,” Hawley said. “They have got to move forward in cleaning up the Westlake Landfill, cleaning up Coldwater Creek, cleaning up Weldon Spring.”
A spokesperson for Sen. Hawley confirmed to Missourinet that Zeldin’s visit is still happening today, despite damage and response efforts following Friday night’s tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in the St. Louis area.
Hawley is also using Zeldin’s visit to renew efforts to reauthorize the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which expired last year.
“We need to pass compensation for folks who have been poisoned by the government’s own nuclear waste,” he said. “I think we will get that done this year. I know the Senate will pass it. The question is, will the (U.S.) House do it?”
Hawley’s bill would both renew the program and expand coverage to more states, including Missouri. The U.S. Senate passed his bill twice last year but U.S. House Republican leaders balked at the original bill’s $50 billion price tag.
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