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The first of two meetings to is set for tomorrow for North St. Louis County residents  who want answers to questions about the putrid odor from  smoldering garbage at the Bridgeton Landfill.

 They've also worried about the proximity of the underground fire to radioactive waste at the adjacent West Lake Landfill.

    The Missouri Coalition for the Environment tells KTRS news now those concerns have drawn the attention of Erin Brockovich and her legal team. The environmental activist was portrayed by Julia Roberts in the 2000 film about her battle against a utility accused of polluting a small California town's water supply.

     A Los Angeles attorney and an environmental investigator who work with Brockovich will meet with residents and answer their questions tomorrow  morning at eleven at the Operating Engineers Union Hall off  Hollenburg Drive.

   Brockovich, who was initially supposed to attend the meeting, will NOT be there. It’s unclear if her absence is related to her arrest in Nevada last week for boating while intoxicated.

   Local environmental groups have pushed for years to have the Army Corps of Engineers take control of the cleanup and excavate tons of Cold War-era nuclear weapons waste that was deposited illegally in the early 1970s.

    A second meeting is set Monday night with State Rep. Bill Otto, of St. Charles at Pattonville High School.  Otto said the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Department of Health and Human Services and technical experts hired by the DNR to assess the landfill fire will be available via webcast to present information and answer questions.

The team of an environmentalist made famous by Julia Roberts is coming to St. Louis. 

A spokesman for the Missouri Coalition for the Environment told KTRS News that a team representing Erin Brockovich will be in north county to address concerns surrounding the Bridgeton Landfill.

The smoldering event underneath the landfill has residents worried it could threaten nuclear waste buried next door at the West Lake Landfill. Residents and environmentalists hope the Brockovich name will draw attention to the issue. Recent tests done by the EPA suggest the underground fire would take 10 years to reach the nuclear waste.

Missouri health officials and the state's Department of Natural Resources are monitoring the smoldering closely.

People who live near a Bridgeton landfill get to return home today. Some had been staying in hotels as excavation work was done at the landfill which had been emitting a noxious odor.

Work is still still being done at the landfill. So far, six concrete pipes have been removed which contributed to the terrible smell.

Republic Services is now installing a landfill cap to control the odor.

Some good news concerning the fire at the Bridgeton Landfill. The EPA is expected to announce that radioactive waste buried near the site remains contained.

The waste was buried at the site in the 1970's. In 2008, the EPA approved a plan to install an earthen cap over the contaminated area.

The report, that will be released in full Wednesday afternoon, says that the safety features have kept the area secure. The results of the report were gathered by a flyover that used special monitoring equipment.

 

We should know later today what the EPA found following a new radiological survey of a Bridgeton landfill. 

The EPA flew airplanes over the landfill site and the adjacent West Lake Landfill which houses decades old nuclear waste material. The purpose of the flight was to identify surface areas that emit gamma radiation. 

Residents nearby are worried about an underground smoldering event beneath the Bridgeton Landfill reaching the nuclear waste under West Lake. 

Work on the Bridgeton landfill begins today now that drier weather is forecast.  Heavy rain prevented repairs for two days to get rid of an odor coming from the landfill. Homeowners who live nearby are staying in a hotel.  

Operators of the landfill believe removing concrete pipes will help eliminate a strong odor that is bothering residents who live near the landfill that sits near Lambert Airport in suburban St. Louis. But the removal process, expected to last through mid-June, is also expected to temporarily make the smell worse.

 

For a second day, heavy rainfall has delayed the start of a project at the Bridgeton Landfill.    

But when work begins to get rid of an odor coming from the landfill--homeowners who live nearby are staying in nearby hotels. They're concerned their homes could be broken into while they're away.

Missouri Attorney General and Bridgeton police chief Don Hood promise residents both marked and unmarked cars will be patrolling those neighborhoods affected by the temporary move.

Our rainy weather has postponed the start of repairs to fix a noxious smell at the Bridgeton landfill.  

Landfill owners, Republic Services had warned residents that the smell will get worse during the early phase of moving things around to ultimately snuff the stench.

 Residents who live near by have been offered expenses to stay in a hotel. All work should be completed by June 14th.

Officials with Republic Services say the smell at Bridgeton will get worse before it gets better.

Monday's rain pushed back the start of work to remove sections of concrete pipe in the landfill. Engineers say the pipe removal will make the ground in and around the landfill safer, but the smell will be worse while work is underway.

The project was initially supposed to be completed on April 30, but with rain forecast through Thursday, it is still unclear when work will get underway. Contractors and company officials will meet midweek to discuss a starting date.

 

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster is suing the operators of a St. Louis County landfill, alleging violations of state environmental laws.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday stems from an underground fire at the Bridgeton Sanitary Landfill near Lambert Airport. The fire is causing a foul-smelling odor that is drawing complaints from nearby homes, businesses, hospitals and senior care centers.

The suit against the landfill owner, Republic Services Inc., asks that Republic bear the cost of cleanup, remediation and monitoring.

Messages seeking comment from the landfill and Republic were not returned. In a statement on its website, Bridgeton Landfill says it is working to fix the problem. Forty wells will be added by April 15 to remove odor-causing gas, then a cap will be installed over the odor-causing area of the landfill.