CAG Board Comments on Proposed Remedy for West Lake Landfill April 18 2018

BOARD COMMENTS ON PROPOSED REMEDY FOR WEST LAKE LANDFILL
April 18, 2018
covered! Covering of surface contamination only occurred last year, yet the wind has been
blowing since before the surface contamination was acknowledged.
We stand with the residents living within approximately one mile of the site who request
voluntary relocation. We also believe that for those within two miles of the site who will remain
in their homes, property value assurance must be part of the agreement.
A commitment is essential to area residents who live within these defined perimeters and have
suffered from health and safety issues, odor effluence and the devaluation of property. As much
as possible, we believe that these residents deserve these options which, for the first time since
the harmful nature of the site was uncovered, will give them some modicum of control over the
circumstances of their lives, which have been put in harm's way through no fault of their own.
We know from the health survey that people living closest to the landfill are statistically more
likely to suffer from shortness of breath and are considerably more likely to be concerned about
odors impacting their lives daily. These are real people with respiratory problems living near the
landfill that are being advised by the DHSS that “during periods of objectionable odor, sensitive
individuals should stay indoors as much as possible, avoid outdoor exercise, and seek medical
advice for any acute symptoms.”
Not knowing when the next odor attack will occur or how the chronic exposure to low-level
contaminants being released by the landfill has and is impacting their health results in chronic
stress for many fence-line families. Chronic stress, itself, has a proven impact on human health,
leading to increased risk for cardiovascular disease, depression, and autoimmune disease,
among other health problems. The combination of physical and mental impacts from the odor at
the landfill has led to a reduced quality of life and increased risk of illness for the people who
live closest to the landfill.
2. St. Louis County Department of Emergency Management, Pattonville Fire District, and a
representative from our community should be included in meetings and deliberations during the
design and engineering phase.
3. During construction and any field tests, St. Louis County Department of Emergency Management
and Pattonville Fire District should each, independently, be granted the right to inspect the site at
any time and be given the authority to stop work at any time they deem a risk to the public or
workers has or is about to occur.
4. We continue to be concerned that EPA has issued a Remedy without knowing where all the RIM is
located, i.e., the North Quarry has not been fully tested: indeed, the only testing for soil based RIM
in the North Quarry was performed in order to find a suitable location for an isolation barrier that
was ordered by both the Missouri Attorneys General and the EPA. Once it was determined that the
Northern end of the North Quarry was too deep for an isolation barrier to be installed, testing was
stopped, leaving a large percentage of the landfill untested and NOT included in the Proposed
Remedy or any of the Alternatives evaluated. This is of particular concern since this is the area
between the “known RIM” and the current SSE AND an area that has experienced landfill fires
even closer to the “known RIM” than the current SSE.
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