ST. LOUIS–A pair of hearings on Capitol Hill yielded commitments to area lawmakers from federal cabinet agency heads this week to address unrelated issues in North St. Louis County and the Metro East.
Wednesday, during a House Committee on Agriculture hearing, EPA Administrator Michael Regan told U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski D-Ill that she had his commitment to appointing a coordinator to manage the federal government’s response to flooding and sewage issues which have plagued Cahokia Heights for years and were exacerbated by last summer’s flash flooding problems that struck the greater St. Louis region.
“Unfortunately this is a two-decade old problem in this community that local, state and federal government have not been able to solve while residents continue to be unable to drink water and live amongst the raw sewage,” Budzinski said in the hearing, suggesting that it was “not an accident that we’ve allowed these unacceptable conditions to continue in poorer communities of color.”
More than $26 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds are covering the cost of water infrastructure projects in Cahokia Heights as well as planning studies for the future of the Prairie Du Pont Watershed.
Budzinski’s office pointed to the fact that appointing an EPA coordinator in Flint, Michigan to spearhead an interagency response to that city’s drinking water crisis has ensured a “rapid and responsible disbursement of funding” there.
In the Senate Thursday, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said she supported legislation sponsored by Sen. Josh Hawley R-Mo. to address Manhattan Project-era nuclear waste in North St. Louis County and the problems caused at Jana Elementary in the Hazelwood School District
During a Senate Energy Committee hearing, Granholm told Hawley she supported his bill which would lead to testing of all Hazelwood School District property for radiation and fund testing and new school construction for districts impacted by nuclear contamination dating back decades.
Hazelwood School District officials announced there was “no expectation” that Jana Elementary School in Florissant would reopen. Students and staff there were taken out of the building last fall when third party testing revealed concerns about radiation. Subsequent testing from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a firm hired by the district contradicted those concerns. The school population was sent to other district schools and will remain there next year.
Citing testing done at three Hazelwood School district locations that found no contamination, the Army Corps of Engineers said there is no technical or scientific basis for further sampling or testing.
Hawley has pledged to stymie Department of Energy nominees unless action was taken.