State and federal environmental regulators will hold a public meeting on Monday in Niagara Falls to address local radiological survey work tied to public health concerns aired recently by a pair of impacted Town of Niagara homeowners.
In a joint release issued Thursday, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced they have scheduled an “availability session” for 5 p.m. Monday at the Niagara Falls Convention Center. The session will include representatives from the New York State Department of Health.
“DEC is committed to ensuring Western New Yorkers are informed of the extensive efforts underway to protect public health and provide more certainty for property owners where additional investigation of radiological material is needed,” DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton said. “In coordination with EPA, we look forward to providing the latest update on the Niagara and Erie County Radiological Assessment and provide an opportunity to connect one-on-one to help directly address resident concerns.”
The meeting follows a press conference last week in which a pair of Town of Niagara residents — Carolyn Johnson of Fox Avenue and Lexi Hawk —publicly shared results from private testing that showed extremely high radioactive levels on parts of their private properties.
It also follows a letter sent this week by Gov. Kathy Hochul to the EPA, in which she urged top administrator Lee Zeldin to move “swiftly” to analyze data tied to radiological survey work conducted by his agency, along with the DEC, in Western New York in recent years.
“EPA is pleased to partner with DEC in this meeting. Together, we will provide residents with clear information about what we know, what we are still investigating, and what happens next,” said EPA Regional Administrator Michael Martucci in the press release issued Wednesday. “This session will bring our technical experts into the community to explain the EPA and DEC survey work, answer questions, and speak directly with property owners.”
The availability session will include a presentation by EPA and DEC representatives. Topics to be discussed will include an update on survey data collection phases to date, an anticipated timeline for next steps, revisions to the prior access agreement and process for testing and how contamination is addressed if man-made sources of selected radiological levels are identified. Following the presentation, attendees will be able to speak with DEC and EPA experts one-on-one to address individual questions.
All are welcome to attend the free event and registration is not required.
The session will take place at the Niagara Falls Convention Center, 101 Old Falls St., Niagara Falls.