Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
4/25/2014
The Army Corps of Engineers will assist in the construction of the isolation barrier at the West Lake Landfill, near St. Louis, according to an agreement announced by the Environmental Protection Agency late last week. The Corps will provide technical assistance, design review, pre-construction and construction observation, and community relations support to aid the EPA in its construction of the barrier to isolate radioactive waste at the site from a smoldering fire. “EPA could not have a better partner than the Corps for this important project,” EPA Regional Administrator Karl Brooks said. “The Corps brings to the table its proven expertise in handling major engineering projects to address challenging situations in effective and timely ways.”
According to the agreement, the EPA will still be the lead agency overseeing the construction of the barrier, but the Corps will assist in the planning of the construction. The Corps’ technical assistance and design review will include reviewing and commenting on various documents, reports and data; participation in discussions and negotiations; coordination of staffing and support activities; tracking and monitoring of costs and performance; and accommodation of external audits or reviews that EPA may require, according to the EPA. The Corps will also provide daily observation of pre-construction and construction activities that will “cover the adequacy of preparations, compliance with applicable plans, sequencing of operations, and any activities that may impact the effectiveness of the isolation barrier,” the EPA said. The costs associated with the construction of the barrier will go to Republic Services, one of the parties responsible for the costs of the cleanup at West Lake. The costs associated with engaging the Corps will eventually fall to the parties responsible, the EPA said.
Corps, EPA ‘In The Beginning Stages’ of Relationship
The working relationship between the two agencies at the West Lake Landfill is still in its infancy stages, St. Louis district spokesman Mike Peterson told RW Monitor this week. “We are still in the beginning stages of this relationship,” Peterson said. “The Corps has been asked to provide our expertise to support the EPA’s oversight of the responsible parties design and construction of this isolation barrier at West Lake Landfill, and right now our focus is to look at what the best available expertise in the Corps of Engineers is. That’s a shared effort. Our Kansas City District and our St. Louis district are both working together to put that team together, finding who the right folks are to provide that technical assistance and support.”
The West Lake Landfill cleanup project has taken on an added sense of urgency after recent reports revealed that the site contains more radioactive waste closer to the smoldering fire than previously thought. Currently, the West Lake Landfill is under the supervision of the EPA’s Superfund program, which took over responsibility for the site in 1990. The EPA is conducting an engineering survey and groundwater analysis of the site to determine the best location to construct an isolation barrier to prevent the spread of a smoldering fire located near the radioactive part of the landfill.
According to the EPA, this inter-agency agreement is the first step in the Corps role at the West Lake Landfill. EPA is currently in discussions with the Corps regarding additional document reviews and support efforts that extend beyond the isolation barrier tasks, the EPA said.
