Buyout West Lake Families
The Missouri Coalition for the Environment supports a voluntary buyout for residents living within one mile of the West Lake Landfill and property assurance for residents living within 5 miles of the landfill.
It is imperative that the community that lives around the West Lake Landfill be enabled to move. They had nothing to do with the unauthorized movement of radioactive material at the landfill or the ongoing smoldering fire, which started in 2010 and could last until 2024. Many people living near the landfill have their life savings invested in their homes and with a good conscience cannot sell their homes to someone else and put them in the same inescapable position they find themselves.
The West Lake Landfill significantly lowers the quality of life of nearby residents. Nearby families live with the noxious odor of the smoldering landfill, which is composed of toxic compounds, like sulfur dioxide, and has been shown to cause increased shortness of breath and make breathing harder for people with respiratory problems. Living near these environmental hazards is an enormous cause of chronic stress in the community, which has very real consequences for individual and community health.
We appreciate Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal and Representative Mark Matthiesen for their ongoing support of a buyout for their constituents who live closest to the West Lake Landfill Superfund site.
