The owner of the Bridgeton Sanitary Landfill put forward a three-phase contingency plan to ensure a fire smoldering underground doesn’t reach radioactive material 1,200 feet away. But immediate construction of a physical barrier, or wall, isn’t among the steps proposed.
The from Republic Services Inc., which lays out additional steps to halt the fire’s spread north, was required under a court-approved agreement with Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, who sued the waste company in March for violating state environmental laws.
While the 425-page filing from Republic appears to meet requirements of the attorney general’s office, the plans outlined fall short of steps by a landfill fire expert retained by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
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It’s also no comfort for ºüÀêÊÓƵ County residents and environmental advocates who continue to push the Environmental Protection Agency to remove the radioactive waste at West Lake, a federal EPA Superfund site. The group held a news conference on Monday in Spanish Village to restate its concerns.
For two and a half years, a fire has been smoldering deep within the 52-acre inactive Bridgeton Landfill, just northeast of the intersection of interstates 70 and 270. Temperatures and odor from the smoldering intensified last year, prompting the state to retain two consultants who are considered national experts on landfill fires.
On June 17 one of the consultants, California engineer Todd Thalhamer, recommended Republic build a barrier in the narrow neck of the hour-glass shaped landfill within the next 60 days and install carbon dioxide injection wells to ensure the smoldering didn’t move farther north.
But Republic said the wall and gas injection proposals aren’t feasible and instead suggests an expansion of existing fire containment efforts if necessary.
The company, in its report, said the wall proposed by Thalhamer would take at least a year to build and pose numerous challenges, including generation of more odors. It would also require the excavation of about 2.5 million cubic yards of decomposing waste, which could generate heavy truck traffic and attract birds that could become a problem for nearby Lambert-ºüÀêÊÓƵ International Airport.
“A physical barrier at the neck area ... at depths of 250 feet for a full barrier, is extremely problematic and is not being considered for further development,†the company said in the report.
Republic also said using carbon dioxide or another inert gas to absorb heat also isn’t feasible because of the density of waste and the depth of the smoldering fire. Gas injection is only known to have been used at landfills experiencing fires at shallower depths, the company said.
A June 24 to the attorney general’s office from Chris Nagel, head of the Missouri DNR’s Solid Waste Department, indicates the state shares the company’s concerns about Thalhamer’s proposal, including questions about the stability of a barrier wall and stormwater management issues it would create.
A final determination on a barrier wall will depend the success or failure of gas interceptor wells installed this spring and “final conclusions regarding the engineering challenges posed by the wall itself,†the memo said.
DNR spokeswoman Gena Terlizzi on Monday said the department is reviewing Republic’s contingency plans and will submit a response, but there is no timetable for doing so.
Meanwhile, Republic said gas interceptor wells installed in April appear to be effective so far. And according to data through June 20, the fire hasn’t continued to spread north, toward West Lake.
Under the agreement with the attorney general’s office, Republic is required to submit the second part of its contingency plans by July 26. Those plans must include a schedule and design for construction of an isolation barrier between the northern edge of the landfill and radioactive waste at West Lake.
Republic doesn’t think a barrier will be needed because the floor of the landfill, a former quarry, steps up about halfway across the northern half of the landfill, “creating an environment that is unfavorable for continued propagation†of the fire.
If a barrier is required, the company said constructing it beyond the northernmost edge of the landfill would be more feasible because there’s only about 40 feet of waste at the chosen location, meaning less material would need to be excavated.
But Dawn Chapman, a mother-turned-activist who lives in Maryland Heights, said waiting out the fire should no longer be an option.
“The state needs to fully take over the site and not allow Republic Services to gamble with our safety,†she said.