ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – FOX 2 is documenting the ongoing frustrations and complaints in north St. Louis County as residents along Coldwater Creek fight to maintain their health and property.
One resident, Romy Baker, says his home is a casualty of the Army Corps of Engineers’ remediation project. According to Baker, the Corps of Engineers’ work damaged the foundation of his home. He’s hired contractors, who’ve told him the work has led to water seeping under this foundation and caused the house to rise.
Baker says he’s spent some $34,000 trying to shore up the walls and floors of his home. After contacting FOX 2 for help, we reached out to Senator Josh Hawley for some high-powered assistance.
“I’m pretty excited (about the senator’s involvement). I see great things happening; people are responding. I hadn’t heard from anybody in weeks,” Baker said. “Since he’s been involved, I’ve had people calling, showing up; it looks like the ball is finally moving.”
Baker says aides from the senator’s office have visited his home to survey the problem and see what they can do about it.
“Well, in this case, we’ll go right to the Corps and say, ‘What is it that you’re doing here? You owe this guy money. You can’t just come in here and destroy his property. And the same goes for everybody else along the creek,” Hawley said.
“You can’t come in here and poison their yards, lie to them about it, then destroy it, and say, ‘Oh, no, never mind; have a nice day.’ You can’t do that you just cannot do that. So, we’ll keep after this as long as it takes.”
FOX 2 reached out to the Army Corps of Engineers for a comment on Baker’s case. In a statement, spokesman Jeremy Idleman said a Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) team has been in regular contact with Baker and is investigating his claim. However, Idleman said the investigation has not found a link between the remediation work and the damage to Baker’s foundation.
I note there were a few inaccuracies in your reporting. First, its title to the report was highly misleading as there is no credible engineering or hydrological data available that reasonably suggests the FUSRAP Coldwater Creek remediation project caused the homeowner’s damage as alleged. Second your reporting seems to suggest the Corps had been nonresponsive in reaching out and trying to address the homeowner’s concerns. Our FUSRAP team has been in regular and reoccurring contact with the homeowner since he first raised his concern with the Corps. Prior to your report, we were working directly with the homeowner, and he is aware our FUSRAP team retained an independent engineering firm to investigate his claim. That investigation included an interview of the homeowner and an inspection of those areas of concern in the home that he identified. As the homeowner is aware, this independent investigation is currently pending final review and will be released to the homeowner within the next few days. I have seen a draft of the report and it found no causal link between our remediation work and his foundation problems.
I encourage you and others with concerns about our ongoing remediation activities along Coldwater Creek to continue reaching out to and communicating with me and other members of our FUSRAP team as needed. We will strive to provide timely and responsive replies to all inquiries.
As you are probably aware, collaborative problem-solving and accurate communications are of paramount importance to the success of our program and in identifying and resolving the community’s concerns as they arise. In addition, when homeowners are not satisfied with the result of our investigations and findings, they have the option of filing a claim for damages in accordance with the Federal Torts Claim Act through the St Louis District’s Office of Counsel.
Thank you for your time, and we look forward to interacting with you and the community in the future.
Jeremy Idleman, Public Affairs Specialist
Community Engagement, FUSRAP
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District
Senator Hawley said he’s not surprised.
“It’s a constant stonewall. And this is why the only way to deal with these folks—the government, that is—is you got to drag this into the spotlight; you’ve got to beat them over the head with it until they do the right thing,” he said. “And for this individual and everybody else in this city and this region that needs help, we’re going to keep after it until they get the help they deserve.”
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