U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

West Lake Landfill: EPA Says No Radioactive Hazards As Activists Scrutinize Bridgeton Fire

In March, concerns about the incredibly smelly landfill in Bridgeton reached a new level when environmental groups warned of a possible "dirty bomb." The question was whether the Bridgeton Landfill's increasing stench -- tied to an underground fire -- could prove to be especially hazardous, given th ... More >>

Walmart Improperly Dumped Hazardous Waste in Missouri, Must Pay $82 Million

Officials with Walmart pleaded guilty this week to mishandling hazardous materials at retail stores in Missouri and California -- and as a result will have to pay a total of more than $110 million in fines to resolve these cases. The company, authorities say, violated a slew of federal and state env ... More >>

EPA to Recognize St. Louis Cardinals for Reducing Food Waste

Don't feel too guilty about not finishing your nachos at Busch Stadium. Chances are the leftover chips (and other half-eaten scraps) will make their way to St. Louis Composting for use as lawn and garden food. A similar second chance exists for unsold food at the ballpark. It is donated to Operati ... More >>

Bridgeton Landfill: "Dirty Bomb" Radioactive Hazards or Irresponsible Activist Speculation?

Residents of Bridgeton, Missouri should be worried about serious potential health hazards tied to an increasingly smelly landfill. So says a coalition of environmental activists who are spreading the word about a possible "dirty bomb" or chemical threat related to radioactivity on the site. Offici ... More >>

There's Poop in the Drinking Water at Some Missouri State Parks! Doesn't Anyone Care?

A national environmental group is calling for a federal review of drinking-water quality at Missouri's state parks, citing a failure to perform federally mandated testing, as well as repeated instances of contamination with coliform bacteria, including E. coli. For the uninitiated, when science typ ... More >>

Forbes Names St. Louis #20 Dirtiest City in America

St. Louis earned a place on a Forbes magazine list alongside the likes of New York City and Los Angeles. Unfortunately that list was of the dirtiest cities in America, as determined by air and water quality.

EPA Puts Off Clean-up of Nuclear Dumpsite, As Lawsuits Pile Up and Activists Circle the Wagons

It'll take a few billion years for 8,700 tons of radioactive waste illegally dumped in a suburban landfill in St. Louis County in the 1970s to stop emitting deadly radionuclides. But before that happens, if this apocalyptic cocktail of Cold War-era nuclear byproducts and municipal toxic waste (jus ... More >>

Missouri Makes "Toxic 20" List of States Most Polluted by Coal-Fired Power Plants

The good news: When it comes to toxic air pollution, Missouri is not the worst! The bad news: We're among the twenty most worstest. According to a report just released by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Missouri comes in #15 on a list of the 20 states most polluted by coal-fired power plants. ... More >>

Thirty Years After Dioxin Disaster, EPA Returns to Times Beach

Starting this afternoon, the Environmental Protection Agency will be back on the former site of Times Beach for a trip down memory lane. Armed with new testing techniques, EPA scientists will collect soil samples in a pilot of new dioxin testing techniques. But spokesperson Chris Whitley says that ... More >>

EPA Official's Past Raises Red Flags in Wildwood's Dioxin Contamination Case

Missouri's interminable dioxin problem is alive and oozing in Wildwood. The latest controversy is over the Environmental Protection Agency official who's been working for decades on cleaning up the dioxin contamination of Times Beach and more recently assessing the Wildwood development site of Stre ... More >>

Swimming the River des Peres: Daredevil Affects EPA Policy on St. Louis River

Hercules Agrees to $245K EPA Fine Over Clean Air Act Violations

​A chemical manufacturing plant in Louisiana, Missouri, just north of St. Louis, failed to properly monitor for leaks of hazardous air pollutants, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency charges -- leading to a $245,521 fine. The settlement was filed in federal court this morning, four years ... More >>

Little Elise's Science Experiment Nips Bud Nip in the Bud

Image via​ A little girl named Elise performed an age-old science experiment: submerging a sweet potato in water to see how long it took to sprout. The results weren't what she expected. The conventionally grown sweet potato languished, the one from the organic grocery store sprouted a littl ... More >>

St. Louis Ranked Eighth Most Toxic City

​A report out yesterday ranks metropolitan St. Louis as one of the most "toxic" (i.e. polluted) cities in the nation. The study by Forbes.com looked at cities based on five factors: air quality, water quality, the number of nearby Superfund sites, amount of days when the air-quality index (AQI) ex ... More >>

Let's Get Lit: City Offers Free Light Bulbs as Ameren Gets Sued

​This just in from City Hall: On Jan. 17, 6,000 lucky St. Louisans will be the recipients of brand new eco-friendly light bulbs. Mayor Slay is scheduled to appear at a press conference this afternoon to announce a new initiative touting energy consumption, co-sponsored by Ameren Missouri. As ... More >>

Doe Run Settles with EPA: Lead Company to Close Herculaneum Smelter, Spend Millions

Photo: Jennifer SilverbergDoe Run smelter in Herculaneum.​The Environmental Protection Agency announced today that St. Louis-based Doe Run -- North America's largest lead producer -- has agreed to spend approximately $65 million to correct violations of environmental laws at ten of its lead mining ... More >>

Missouri Coalition for the Environment Sues EPA Over State's Notorious Poop Chutes

Missouri Coalition for the EnvironmentPeruque Creek running through Warren and St. Charles counties is an example of an "unclassified" waterway.​The Missouri Coalition for the Environment filed suit against the Environmental Protection Agency yesterday in federal court in Jefferson City alleging t ... More >>

The Laws Are Changing. School Food Bill Approved By Committee.

The House Education and Labor Committee approved a bill on Thursday that, if passed by Congress, would set standards for school food. The Associated Press says that the bill will cost $8 billion over a decade. It will also provide more free lunches to low-income students. First Lady Michelle Obama s ... More >>

Missouri's E. coli problems are not confined to the Lake of the Ozarks

Clean Air Festival Tomorrow at Kiener Plaza -- With Free Ted Drewes!

Yes, that's some fresh air.​The St. Louis Regional Clean Air Partnership is hosting its seventh annual festival tomorrow at Kiener Plaza.The event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. includes live music, giveaways and information booths from entities such as Trailnet, the EPA, the Lung Association and many mor ... More >>

Effort to Convert Jefferson City Prison to Office, Retail Space Gets Boost from EPA

Image Via​The Environmental Protection Agency announced yesterday that it is awarding $234,221 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding to to conduct a brownfield assessment of the former Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City. The prison closed in 2004 as the oldest continuously ... More >>

Crap: Missouri's Next Sustainable Energy Resource?

Image viaCrap: lawmakers are full of it, utility companies want to make good use of it.​The Missouri Senate moved forward with a bill yesterday that would make the methane gas produced by animal waste a part of the state's renewable energy program for utility companies.The proposed law (SB 848) do ... More >>

EPA: Missouri Company "Fresh and Clean Restrooms" Is Not So Fresh or Clean

Sludge: Not just for breakfast anymore.​The Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday it has issued an order against Fresh and Clean Restrooms for failure to apply sewage sludge in compliance with Clean Water Act regulations. According to the EPA, the porta-potty company from southeast Mis ... More >>

Joe Washington of Northeast Ambulance & Fire District Sentenced for Clean Air Violations

Joe Washington​The former chief of the Northeast Ambulance & Fire Protection District was sentenced today to one year of probation for violating the Clean Air Act.Joe Washington pleaded guilty in December for violating EPA regulations when he had asbestos removed last year from the fire distri ... More >>

Doe Run Lead Smelter Continues to Contaminate Herculaneum

The report from the Environmental Protection Agency is hardly shocking. Yesterday the agency released test results indicating that as many as one-third of properties situated within a mile of the company's lead smelter in Herculaneum contain lead at levels exceeding 400 parts per million (ppm) -- th ... More >>

Lawyer for Metropolitan Sewer District is Married to EPA Official Who is Suing Agency

The Kansas City Star has a curious story out today involving an ethical quandary that could impact a lawsuit filed against the Metropolitan Sewer District. shb.comTerry SatterleeThe paper reports that the Kansas City attorney representing MSD, Terry Satterlee, is the wife of, Bill Rice, the head of ... More >>

"If You Ever Eat Pickled Eggs and Drink Beer, It Smells Worse Than Them Kind of Farts."

flickr.com/photos/cottergarageA Granite City sunrise.Parts of Madison County, Illinois, have the second-most poisonous air in the country, according to a new report issued by the Environmental Protection Agency. Most alarming was one particular Granite City neighborhood, located near U.S. Steel Corp ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Tuesday, 5.12

The New York Times attempts to sum up all the recent food-safety scares.The EPA bans the pesticide carbofuran. (AP)A man sues Burger King for getting his order wrong and including tomatoes, onions and pickles. (Virginian-Pilot, via Eater)

The Morning Brew: Friday, 8.8

Craptastrophe: Record rainfall has created a dung dilemma for Missouri farmers

The Morning Brew: Friday, 6.20

How Congress Rolls: Our lawmakers drive gas guzzlers — and guess who's paying for it?

University of Missouri biology professor Frederick vom Saal has been sounding the alarm about bisphenol A for a decade. Has he got your attention?

Waterworld

A Drop To Drink

Gob Story

Exxon pulled out of its Clinton County coal mine nearly a decade ago. Locals still live with the mess.

Funky Town

Smokestacks, strip joints and a seriously solid tax base: Welcome to Sauget, Illinois

Best Worthy Cause

Great Rivers Land Trust

Left Behind

Bellefontaine Neighbors residents have lived -- and died -- with asbestos for years. The problem's an open secret, but little has been done.

Cleaning Up the Past

The waste may be gone, but the stigma lingers

Heavy-Metal Racket

John Chamis and other residents of lead-contaminated Herculaneum are tired of getting jerked around by regulators and by Doe Run. They're demanding answers -- and results.

The Right to Answers

Nobody knows why the babies are dying near Weldon Spring. But the grownups can't help asking whether the site's toxic stew is to blame.

Cementing a Deal

A giant quarry and the world's largest cement kiln are being welcomed by Ste. Genevieve County. But the operation may leave St. Louis gasping for air.

Trash Talk

From the top of Mount Milam to the depths of the Pit with the people who take out St. Louis' garbage

Letters to the Editor

Published the week of June 28-July 4, 2000

Getting Burned

A North St. Louis medical-waste incinerator has spewed dioxin for a decade. Nearby residents say it's time to fight the fire.

The Lead Menace

In its lawsuit, St. Louis is eager to blame the lead industry for making the area one of the most contaminated in the nation. But the city itself is guilty of doing little to prevent the poisoning of thousands of children like "Little Al" Evans.

Clearing the Air

Challenged by pro-business groups more interested in profit than in clean air, attorney Lewis C. Green fights to make the government enforce its own air-quality standards

Of Wetlands and Wal-Marts

One development at a time, Missouri has lost 87 percent of its wetlands. And that means more floods, more damage, more levees, more bucks. The story of one Supercenter and how progress comes at a price.