Residents wonder about Pueblo City Council’s participation during Superfund meetings

It’s a potential big step for a neighborhood in Pueblo and people in the area are wondering where the City Council members are.

The Eilers neighborhood could potentially be on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund list.

The EPA said a Superfund site is a federal program that checks and cleans up the complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites to protect public health and the environment.

The agency said the neighborhood has high traces of lead and arsenic from an old smelter site.

City Council President Steve Nawrocki said he felt the council wasn’t needed after neighbors said they didn’t want public officials interfering too much. Nawrocki wants to change that since people are asking where council is for the meetings.

“Well we’re going to make sure that any other meetings that take place and they are very important we will make sure we will have representation from city council and staff,” he said.

The EPA hopes to find out if Eilers will be a Superfund site by mid-December.