Florissant Mayor Releases Position on West Lake Landfill

Mayor Tom Schneider’s office issued a position statement Monday afternoon regarding the .

Last week, the heavily weighed the landfill situation through an hour-long discussion after reviewing the feasibility study and supplemental feasibility study and hearing from various supporters for the removal of the landfill.

University City resident Kay Drey and others asked the council to consider a resolution that would move the landfill out of the Environmental Protection Agency’s hands into the Army Corps of Engineers.

However, no vote was taken on the issue.

(Read more about the West Lake Landfill issue from our two previous stories at "" and "."

Ward 4 Councilman Keith English said that the council didn’t have plans to take action at its previous work session or in the next few weeks.

The city’s statement is as follows from its press release: 

“This review was shared with the City Council and a majority of them concur with the position of the administration. Following this review, several concerns remain which the City feels should be addressed prior to any remediation option being selected.  Our concerns are as follows:

“The contaminated material is situated above the alluvial deposits (sand and gravel) of the Missouri River floodplain and lacks an engineered liner below it.  Water flows freely through the sand, gravel and contamination material with an overall regional flow towards the Missouri River.  Over the nearly infinite lifetime that the radioactive material remains hazardous the groundwater level will vary, the river may change course.   These changes cannot be predicted with certainty.  Nonetheless, today a large portion of the North St. Louis County population obtains its drinking water from the intake facility located approximately 8 miles downriver from West Lake Landfill.  Pockets of perched groundwater are already present within the contaminated material and sampling from groundwater monitoring wells has indicated isolated areas of shallow groundwater contamination.  Clean safe drinking water is a basic fundamental need.  Protecting the current and future health of our residents should be the highest priority of our local, state and federal governments.  Nowhere in the studies is the intake facility discussed, nor is the risk of contamination to this facility and our residents evaluated. 

“The loose sand gravel deposits may be susceptible to liquefaction during a seismic event and the site falls within the New Madrid Seismic Zone.  If the soils below the contaminated material liquefy, the integrity of the proposed cap system may be compromised allowing for an accelerated spread of the contamination.  Nowhere in the studies is the risk of a seismic event and liquefaction evaluated. 

“Vertical barriers such as interlocking sheet pile walls or a slurry wall were rejected on the basis that installation through the construction debris intermixed with the contaminated material would be too difficult. However, installation is feasible outside of the areas with construction debris.  Nowhere in the studies is this contingency evaluated.

“It is extremely rare that a decision will have such a long-lasting and potentially devastating impact on such a large population and their ancestors as with the currently suggested remediation plan for West Lake Landfill.  As in any important decision, and particularly one of this magnitude, it is critical to have as much information as possible available prior to making the decision.  These glaring omissions cast considerable doubt over the studies as a whole; which prompt an equally opposing conservative position on our part.  

“Our position is we strongly feel that the studies are incomplete and that our concerns warrant further exploration before any decision is made that results in consequences that will be felt for generations to come.”

What are your thoughts on the West Lake Landfill issue?