State Rep. says Attorney General has “overplayed his hand at Bridgeton Landfill.”
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Rep. Glen Kolkmeyer, the chairman of the House Committee on Transportation, has issued the following statement regarding Attorney General Chris Koster and the Bridgeton Landfill:
“I agree with my colleagues that the Attorney General has overplayed his hand when it comes to the false reports regarding the Bridgeton Landfill. Koster’s own experts have stated that the hysteria is unwarranted and disagree with his findings.
“Like Nixon in Ferguson, Koster has barged into Bridgeton to only make things worse. The Bridgeton Landfill is closely monitored and poses no threat to public health. This isn’t a campaign commercial – this is real life – and Koster’s actions have scared people into closing businesses and moving out of an already vulnerable local economy.
“It is like Koster has come into a crowded theater, near the end of a movie, and yelled “fire!” It is our duty as public officials to sort through information and make decisions that represent the best interest of Missourians, not what gets us in front of TV cameras as we try to climb the political ladder.
“In a recent article by the St. Louis Post Dispatch, a Bridgeton City Council member noted that although the reports coming from Koster’s office are alarming, “People should keep in mind that he is running for governor.”
“The West Lake Landfill needs to be capped immediately. The Bridgeton Landfill is contained and the problems at that site will eventually subside. Neither pose a threat to public health. As transportation chair and a representative of a district along Interstate 70, I do not support the site being excavated and unnecessarily hauled through St. Louis and St. Charles Counties, as well as all of rural Missouri. We need to cap the landfill and move on.”
Rep. Kolkmeyer represents Lafayette, Jackson and Johnson Counties. He is the Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and also serves on the Energy and the Environment Committee.
