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Energy secretary stops short of endorsing atomic waste victims fund in Missouri visit
ST. LOUIS — Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in a visit to Missouri on Tuesday would not commit to supporting bipartisan legislation meant to compensate people who have been exposed to radioactive material from U.S. weapons development and production. “I can’t speak for the administration on that particular piece because I just don’t know the answer,” […]
Missouri Democrat calls for special session on St. Louis nuclear waste, Parson says no
One of Missouri’s top Democratic officials asked the governor on Monday to call a special legislative session in response to news reports of the “unacceptable mismanagement” of radioactive waste in the St. Louis area. “The problems related with this waste have festered for nearly 80 years,” House Minority Leader Crystal Quade said in a letter […]
Missouri may allow meatpacker to release wastewater into already-impaired river
A southwest Missouri river already contaminated with E. coli could soon receive up to 350,000 gallons of wastewater daily from a meatpacking facility. And while the facility is expected to treat the wastewater for contamination before releasing it, critics of the proposal are worried about the operators’ history of violations at the site. “It would […]
U.S. Senate OKs Hawley proposal to expand coverage for atomic bomb-related illness to St. Louis
The U.S. Senate voted narrowly Thursday in favor of expanding a program that compensates Americans who become ill because of exposure to radiation from the country’s development and testing of nuclear weapons to cover Missourians. The proposal, offered by Sen. Josh Hawley, was attached as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which authorizes […]
Missouri warned feds in 2021 radioactive contamination of groundwater wasn’t improving
Missouri environmental regulators warned the federal government in 2021 that radioactive contamination of groundwater from a uranium processing site near St. Louis wasn’t improving despite cleanup efforts, according to documents reviewed by The Independent and MuckRock. Officials with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Energy in May […]
Hawley demands St. Louis nuclear cleanup, faces questions on his environmental record
WELDON SPRING — U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley on Thursday decried the federal government’s “negligence” that allowed radioactive waste to sicken St. Louis-area residents for decades and invited Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to visit the community still suffering from the legacy of the atomic bomb. “You all have had enough of it,” Hawley said. “I’ve had […]
New findings inspire state, federal lawmakers to demand action on St. Louis radioactive waste
Revelations that government officials and private companies downplayed or failed to fully investigate the dangers of radioactive waste in St. Louis sparked outrage among state and federal lawmakers Wednesday and a promise from U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley to seek funding for residents who have become ill. At the heart of the bipartisan calls for action […]
Records reveal 75 years of government downplaying, ignoring risks of St. Louis radioactive waste
For kids like Sandy Mitchell, Ted Theis and Janet Johnson, childhood in the North St. Louis County suburbs in the 1960s and ‘70s meant days playing along the banks or splashing in the knee-deep waters of Coldwater Creek. They caught turtles and tadpoles, jumped into deep stretches of the creek from rope swings and ate […]
Five revelations about St. Louis’ history with radioactive waste
The Missouri Independent and MuckRock spent months scouring thousands of pages of government records about St. Louis’ involvement in the race to build an atomic bomb during World War II and decades of environmental contamination that followed. Journalists sought to lay bare the degree to which government officials knew of the spreading contamination and the […]
Ameren Missouri plans solar farms that can power 95,000 homes
Ameren Missouri plans to open four solar farms by 2026 capable of powering a combined 95,000 homes, the company announced Tuesday. Ameren, an investor-owned electric utility serving St. Louis and eastern Missouri, said in a release it would build or purchase the four solar farms, which would have a combined capacity of 550 megawatts. Mark […]
Evergy slashes planned renewable energy additions, proposes more natural gas
Kansas’ largest electric utility – also a major supplier in western Missouri – has drastically scaled back its plans to add more clean energy over the next decade and will keep open its oldest coal plant for years longer. Two years ago, Evergy announced plans to retire the Lawrence Energy Center by the end of […]
Sierra Club calls on EPA to enforce coal plant rules, highlighting Missouri facilities
Strengthening federal air pollution rules could force some of the nation’s “deadliest” coal plants to upgrade their facilities or retire them, according to a report released Thursday by the environmental advocacy group Sierra Club. In some cases, just more stringent enforcement of existing standards could force changes. The Sierra Club report urged the U.S. Environmental […]