ST CHARLES, Mo. — The City of St. Charles said the public comment period regarding contamination issues at the Elm Point Wellfield has been extended. The opportunity was slated to expire on Nov. 3.
The public comment period has been extended to Dec. 5. Now, both the city and the St. Charles Clean Water Advocates are calling on more residents to submit their comments.
“I'm a little disappointed that it took until the last week for this to occur and it took the public outcry and political officials to get this to be extended. But we are thankful that it is being extended and we're not done yet,” St. Charles Public Works Director Nick Gala said.
The City of St. Charles said it had to shut down four of seven wells in Elm Point Wellfield -- that provide drinking water to residents -- due to contamination which they say came from a hazardous Superfund site and Ameren Missouri's Huster Substation.
Ameren said they have already completed the cleanup and called for more testing. They also called for an investigation to identify where exactly the chemicals are coming from.
Several residents are searching for answers.
“The biggest thing is the city saying the water is safe currently. But if these wells are being contaminated, and more of them get contaminated down the line -- that means we're going to have a huge burden financially -- that's going to be passed on to us as the consumer,” City of St. Charles Clean Water Advocates’ Eric Ringhofer said.
The entire issue has residents concerned and as a result, residents started the City of St. Charles Clean Water Advocates group to get even more people engaged.
“Just get anybody and everybody to write a letter explaining your issues with the water and then from there, it'll be in legal processes," Ringhofer said. "But for right now, that's the best we can do and then stay involved."
Gala said these letters and comments from residents to the Enivronmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Justice (DOJ) are important.
“No matter who you are, or how educated you are on the topic, it's still important to get your voices heard. When it closes that comment period’s over, they don't need to respond to you anymore," Gala said. "If you get your comments in now, the EPA is required to submit a response back to you."
To submit a public comment regarding Elm Point Wellfield contamination, click here.