JEFFERSON CITY • Missouri’s new governor signed legislation Friday aimed at providing state funding to help investigate areas of the state exposed to radioactive waste.
Republican Gov. Mike Parson, who was sworn in on June 1 after the resignation of Gov. Eric Greitens, approved the proposal championed by Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City.
The measure will allocate $150,000 annually to the Department of Natural Resources to probe sites like the West Lake Landfill in north ӣƵ County, where radioactive material was dumped more than 40 years ago.
“It’s a small step for a big problem. There’s a lot more that needs to happen,” Chappelle-Nadal said. “We’ve got a long road ahead of us.”
The measure was among the first five bills signed by Parson, who had previously served as lieutenant governor.
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“Our top objective is to move Missouri forward. Today, by signing these bills into law, we are headed the right direction. The Legislature should be proud of the work that was done this year. Many significant bills were passed during this very productive session,” Parson said in a written statement.
Before hastily leaving office under the cloud of a growing scandal, Greitens signed 77 bills into law, leaving Parson with nearly the same number to act on. The new governor is expected to sign the state’s $27.8 billion budget into law next week.
Chappelle-Nadal said she was pleasantly surprised Parson signed the legislation because the two had locked horns over the years. He previously served in the Senate and also presided over the chamber as lieutenant governor.
In September, after Chappelle-Nadal had written on Facebook that she hoped President Donald Trump would be assassinated, Parson called for her ouster from the Senate.
“I have no desire to sit in the same chamber with an elected official who has called for the assassination of the president of the United States,” Parson said.
Chappelle-Nadal removed the post and apologized but was stripped of her committee assignments by Senate Minority Leader Gina Walsh, D-Bellefontaine Neighbors.
The signing of the legislation comes on the same week that a federal report was issued saying people who lived near or played in Coldwater Creek from the 1960s to the 1990s may have been exposed to radioactive contaminants, increasing their risk of developing cancer.
Chappelle-Nadal has been pushing for tougher laws aimed at addressing World War II-era weapon production that resulted in nuclear waste being dumped at sites near the ӣƵ Lambert International Airport.
The radioactive waste fund was just one provision of a larger bill affecting state environmental laws.
The legislation, for example, also would alter the state’s regulation of coal ash, the residue left after coal is burned to generate electricity.
The ash typically is stored in water pits that, if not properly lined and monitored, can leak unwanted metals and chemicals into groundwater supplies.
The changes included in were backed by Ameren Missouri and other investor-owned utilities. It gives the DNR the authority to make rules and approve target levels for the management, closure and post-closure of the coal ash repositories.
Other legislation approved by Parson on Friday includes , which adds disposable diapers to the sales tax holiday that occurs in early August.
