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ST. LOUIS COUNTY — A County Council majority on Tuesday eyed a proposal to require notification of federal and emergency officials about construction projects along Coldwater Creek to ensure that radioactive soil is removed before shovels hit the ground.

The idea, sponsored by 2nd District Democrat Kelli Dunaway, aims to trigger notification of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Emergency Management anytime a construction or utility permit is requested in parts of North County that may have radioactive soil or other materials.

Backers say it would ensure smaller projects that could kick up potentially radioactive soil get the same testing and remediation from the Corps as government and utility projects do.

Dunaway announced plans to draft the legislation pending more details, saying it would make sure that “important parties know when there is going to be any kind of activity that can dust up radioactive waste and put all hands on deck to make sure we’re keeping the community safe.�

The idea was backed by a majority of council Democrats at a hearing on plans to replace the James S. McDonnell Boulevard bridge over the creek. Rita Days, Shalonda Webb and Lisa Clancy expressed alarm that the County’s Office of Emergency Management director, Michele Ryan, said she had only recently been notified about a bridge project that has been in planning and design stages for two years.

Government projects and those done by major utilities companies are already done in coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has for years been removing soil and mitigating environmental damage caused by decades-old illegal dumping of radioactive waste from the nation’s atomic weapons program.

But residents concerned about the waste said that projects by businesses or homeowners don’t get the same vetting.

“What if somebody wants to dig something substantial in their yard? … Individual citizens need to understand there is a potential hazard there,� said Harvey Ferdman, chair of the West Lake Community Advisory Group.

Christen Commuso, a policy specialist for the Missouri Coalition for the Environment, also called for the county to establish a database to document cleanup of contaminated waste throughout North County.

The afternoon hearing, which was attended only by the council’s four Democrats, addressed environmental and health concerns raised about demolition of the bridge, which sits on known contaminated soil in an industrial area just north of ºüÀêÊÓƵ Lambert International Airport.

The Missouri Coalition for the Environment and Just Moms STL said last week they only learned about the project because of a pending bill that would update plans from a staged demolition to a complete, one-time demolition. The demolition would occur in June 2023 at earliest. Afterward, the Corps would come in and clear out any contaminated soil. Then the county’s contractor would return to build a new bridge.

Phil Moser, who manages the Corps’ cleanup of former nuclear sites, detailed a lengthy list of precautions Tuesday he said would ensure that material would be removed safely and prevent it from spreading. Moser pointed out the project would be similar to the replacement of the Pershall Road bridge as part of Missouri Department of Transportation renovations to I-270, during which the Corps cleaned out 35,000 cubic yards of contaminated material.

“Every time we do these remediations, we have tried and true processes we go to,� Moser said. “We have done this for years and make sure that we have the right people and procedures in place to address any concern.�

The project gives the Army Corps of Engineers an opportunity to clear out 40,000 cubic yards of contaminated material under the bridge and along the boulevard that wouldn’t be accessible otherwise, Moser said.

Testimony from Moser, county officials and contractors on the job appeared to satisfy most concerns about the project.

“It sounds like they are working very hard on a great plan, we just want to make sure that in the future we don’t have to revisit it like this,� said Dawn Chapman, a volunteer with Just Moms.

Ryan, the emergency management director, said she was disturbed when she heard about the bridge project Thursday, but after talking to federal officials and the county’s public works department, “slept a lot better.�

“These folks know they’re jobs, and I think it was just a problem of a lack of communication,� she said. Ryan said her agency had since also developed a draft emergency plan that would be circulated to area businesses.

Joseph Kulessa, transportation and public works acting deputy director, said the agency didn’t think it had to notify emergency communications because they had notified the Corps.

“Obviously we were incorrect,� he said. “We’re very interested in addressing that going forward.�

Dunaway, whose district includes the area of the McDonnell bridge, held the bill updating the project plans Tuesday to allow other council input but said she wanted to “get this project moving forward before the bridge collapses — and we have a true catastrophe on our hands.�

The McDonnell project wouldn’t begin until at least next summer. Scott Norris, a county liaison for the project, said construction workers would only have to deal with the risk of contaminated materials during the demolition. They wouldn’t return to the site until the Corps had finished remediating and cleaning out all contaminated materials.

“When they come back to build the new bridge, it will be clean,� he said.

Moser said safety precautions would be taken throughout the project.

The soil will be transported to a secure Corps containment facility just nearby on McDonnell and then to a licensed disposal facility in Idaho.