EPA Seeks Public Input on Lead Cleanup Effort Along Big River

Hillsboro, Mo. (KFMO) - The Environmental Protection Agency hosted a community meeting at Jefferson College in Hillsboro Wednesday, seeking public input on an upcoming project to clean up lead and other heavy metal contamination along the Big River.

Southwestern Jefferson County is home to a superfund site. In 1980, Congress passed the Comprehensive Enivornmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). CERCLA gave the EPA authority to clean up abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites, while also establishing a trust fund. Nicknamed the "Superfund," it allows the EPA to pay for cleanup when no viable responsible parties are found. The superfund is also intended to involve communities in the cleanup process, while also following the EPA's goal of protecting human health and the environment.

As part of the community involvement process, citizens, local officials and representatives from other Missouri government agencies were on hand to hear a presentation from EPA officials. Greg Bach, EPA Project Manager for the Jefferson Couty superfund site, presented an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA) plan, consisting of several alternatives. Alternatives include doing nothing, targeted bank stabilization, sediment traps with targeted excavation, or both bank stablization and sediment traps. Following the meeting, Bach spoke to KFMO/B104 News and explained some of these alternatives.

Lead, the primary concern of the cleanup process, is a toxic metal. Exposure can cause serious negative health effects, especially in children under the age of 7. Bach says increased concentration can amplify these effects.

Following the presentation, EPA officials accepted verbal comments from those in attendance. Further public comment will be accepted through August 17, after which an action memorandum will be released detailing the selected alternative and the EPA's response to comments. If you'd like to view the EE/CA, visit the webpage for the superfund site, found here. 

Comments can be submitted to Hilary Elizabeth Kramer, Community Involvement Coordinator, by email at kramer.elizabeth@epa.gov, or by phone at (913) 551-7186. Additional questions can be directed to Kramer as well.

Another meeting was held Tuesday evening in Farmington, focusing on sections of the Big River that run through St. Francois County.