Bridgeton, MO  (KTRS)  The EPA is expected to officially sign off on a final plan Thursday morning to clean up radioactive waste at the Westlake Landfill in Bridgeton.

The St. Louis Post Dispatch reports the plan differs from one discussed earlier this year, in that it will cost $30 million dollars less, and finish up a year sooner. The plan includes digging between 8 and 20 feet down into target spots to remove waste over a four-and-a-half-year period, while still leaving 30 percent of the waste on site.

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill issued the following statement regarding the EPA’s announced record of decision for the West Lake Landfill:

“What’s always been the most important issue to me is making sure we have a safe, permanent solution that has the support of the local families in this community. That’s why I took the EPA to task for not having previously taken the input from the community seriously. I am currently examining the details of the final proposal but at first glance this appears to be a significant step forward in achieving that goal.”

McCaskill and fellow Missouri Senator Roy Blunt introduced legislation, which passed the U.S. Senate and was supported by the local community to transfer remediation authority over the West Lake landfill from the Environmental Protection Agency to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, putting the site in the Corps’ Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP).