Environmental Protection Agency

Residents have dealt with sewage flooding their homes and neighborhoods after heavy rains for years. With a new grant from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Cahokia Heights plans to complete repairs in February 2026.

The state will get $106.4 million for water infrastructure upgrades through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Despite pleas from community members who say the landfill is responsible for mysterious illnesses, federal environmental regulators said Tuesday they can’t provide a timeline for cleanup.

In far south St. Louis County, workers are using huge machines to dig a $175 million tunnel. It’s part of a Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District project aimed at preventing sewers from overflowing. That could allow the district to treat all of the region's wastewater and protect the environment.

The Illinois Democrat toured homes in the area to see the damage from chronic flooding during heavy rains, which often contains raw sewage.

Reporter Allison Kite updates "St. Louis On The Air" about an ongoing investigation into the causes and risks of high lead levels in the Midwest.

Water utilities have never been required to thoroughly inventory lead pipes except in a crisis. Health experts warn problems with these “underground poisonous straws” can arise out of the blue.

Missouri and Illinois are among dozens of states that have yet to submit plans for improving air quality in protected areas. Environmental nonprofits are suing the EPA to compel the agency to take action.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week reversed a restriction put in place in January that was intended to help the endangered American burying beetle. The agency now says the Enlist brand of weed killer doesn’t pose a risk.

Residents reported a strong smell of gas, and the city said the odor was a result of the leak.