State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt wants a clean bill of health for homeowners in Niagara County. Ortt has introduced legislation that would change environmental conservation law.
“Making crucial changes to the state’s superfund law to include the radiological materials discovered in Niagara County will allow the DEC to use all the resources available to them to assist homeowners during this process. It is paramount these amendments are made so that additional resources be made available, for my constituents affected by radiological contamination,” said Ortt.
Right now, radiological contamination is not covered by a hazardous waste Superfund. His proposal would amend that.
A Superfund distinction allows the agency to clean up contaminated sites, paid for by whoever is responsible or with public funds.
“Recent reports declaring that hundreds of properties have potentially dangerous levels of radioactive contamination has some Western New Yorkers scared – and affected homeowners want to have documentation from agency officials confirming that their properties are indeed safe. Establishing a system where homeowners can have physical documentation to point to showing that their property is safe would go a long way to providing peace of mind after a difficult and unsettling situation like this,” said Ortt.
This comes as radiological assessments continue after the discovery of radioactive pollution at 120 homes in Niagara County last month.
The Environmental Protection Agency and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation say their crews have visited more than 1,200 properties since July 23 seeking consent to screen those areas, as a larger radiological assessment continues in Niagara and Erie counties. According to DEC officials, more than 658 access agreements have been signed in that time.
Dozens of properties have already been screened and officials say the vast majority will not need any intervention.