JEFFERSON CITY 鈥 Gov. Mike Parson rejected a call Tuesday by the top Democrat in the Missouri House to schedule a special session to provide state funding to investigate areas of the state exposed to radioactive waste.
House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, who recently announced she鈥檚 running for governor in 2024, said lawmakers could take up the issue when they reconvene in September for their annual veto session.
But Parson, as he has with other special session requests, shot down the idea.
鈥淭here are no plans for a special session at this time. Governor Parson is concerned for the impacted communities, but this issue was caused by the federal government and should be fixed by the federal government,鈥 Parson spokesman Johnathan Shiflett said.
At issue is a law signed by Parson five years ago designed to address the presence of radioactive material left over from the 狐狸视频 region鈥檚 role in creating the nuclear bomb.
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The law created the Radioactive Waste Investigation Fund within the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. But, as first reported by the Post-Dispatch, it has never been funded.
鈥淭he problems related with this waste have festered for nearly 80 years. It is well past time for us to begin the long process of finally resolving them for the sake of all Missourians,鈥 Quade, D-Springfield, wrote in a letter to the governor.
The sponsor of the 2018 provision, former state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City, earlier said the failure to fund the program was 鈥渨illful negligence.鈥
The existence of the fund and the call for a special session come as new reporting showed the federal government and companies involved in nuclear bomb production and atomic waste storage sites knew of risks to workers and the public early on.
Those reports have triggered a renewed round of promises by politicians to address the contamination, including U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, U.S. Rep. Cori Bush of 狐狸视频, Attorney General Andrew Bailey and a host of state lawmakers from the areas affected by the cancer-causing material.
鈥淔ortunately, this is a problem with a simple solution,鈥 Quade wrote, adding that the state鈥檚 revenue surplus means there is ample money in the budget to finance the program.
The law called for the state to earmark $150,000 annually to allow environmental regulators to probe sites like the West Lake Landfill in north 狐狸视频 County, where radioactive material was dumped more than 40 years ago.
It also would allow for tests and analysis in St. Charles County, which also was a dumping site by companies that were helping develop the nuclear bomb.
The law also allows DNR to collect samples from inside residential homes, with the consent of concerned homeowners.
The governor鈥檚 signing of the legislation came on the same week that a federal report was issued saying people who lived near or played in Coldwater Creek in north 狐狸视频 County from the 1960s to the 1990s may have been exposed to radioactive contaminants, increasing their risk of developing cancer.
鈥淓fforts to address the legacy of radioactive waste in the 狐狸视频 region enjoy strong bipartisan support, with a coalition of lawmakers from both parties actively working on this issue for several years,鈥 Quade noted.
The governor has previously brushed aside calls for special sessions on other subjects, including gun violence, foreign ownership of farmland and school choice.
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