Niagara neighborhood calls for permanent relocation from radiological testing

TOWN OF NIAGARA, N.Y. (WKBW) — After state and federal radiological testing found dangerous conditions near Gill Creek in the Town of Niagara, neighbors are asking for permanent relocation, not just temporary housing.

It has been a long year for Lexi Hawk. She’s received letters from the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), seen employees at her house sample soil and received test results that led the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to temporarily relocate her family.

Just three blocks away from Lexi’s house, one of her neighbors, John Johnson, also got his test results back, and the radioactivity levels were so high that his family too was relocated.

However, a few dozen people are living in the areas in and around their two homes that were never moved out during the testing or as remediation draws near.

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"I want to get them to safety too," Hawk said. "I will always question what is beneath my feet. I will never feel safe there."

The group founded by Hawk, Save Our Backyards WNY, is not asking for more of the temporary housing she and the Johnsons received. Instead, they’d like the government to fund a permanent relocation for the whole neighborhood.

"Call on the state and federal government to work together to establish a permanent relocation or a voluntary buyout program for affected families," Executive Director, Center for Health, Environment & Justice Jackie Medcalf said. "That means providing fair compensation so that homeowners can move into a comparable home."

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"If our two families didn’t step up, it didn’t seem like anybody was going to speak up," Johnson said.

Johnson and Hawk said that it’s not just about protecting their neighbors, but their own families too, even after what Hawk believes will be full remediation work in the Spring.

"I know that I’ll be out of that house for another six months," Hawk said. "I’m just dreading the day that they call and say ‘it’s done and you have to go back,’ cause we’re not going back."

WATCH: Niagara neighborhood calls for permanent relocation from radiological testing

"How do you ever trust that this is really cleaned up? I don’t. I wouldn’t," Johnson said.

I reached out to an EPA spokesperson to ask if permanent relocation has ever been considered for this project and for their response to the neighbors asking for permanent relocation. I never received a response.