LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Since crews first discovered a Louisville home was full of hazardous chemicals, Mayor Craig Greenberg has maintained the only safe way to dispose of the dangerous chemicals hoarded inside is a "controlled and monitored burn."
This came after consulting with local, state and federal agencies like the FBI and ATF.
Now though, the city says it's keeping its options open until the EPA is on site and evaluates the best next steps.
After a community meeting Monday night to address the community's concerns, Jody Meiman, executive director of Louisville Metro EMS, told WHAS11 there may be other options for the potential burn.
"An alternative is a contractor coming in and actually methodically taking things out one by one in the house if a contractor will do that," Meiman said.
Tuesday, the attorney for the home's jailed owner, Marc Hibel, filed a motion to halt any potential destruction of the property because there may be evidence that supports the former chemist's defense.
But now, the question of "when" city crews would burn the house down has now shifted to "if" that's the best avenue to fix the issue.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the mayor's office said the EPA had just responded to Greenberg's request for guidance this week.
"[EPA officials] have asked for access to the house in order to help us determine the next steps. We are working through the legalities to give them access to the house and we expect to provide an update by the end of the week," Kevin Trager wrote.
WHAS11 learned the city had its first direct conversation with the EPA this week to discuss potential alternatives to a controlled burn -- options that would likely take longer and potentially keep residents away from their homes for more time.
Craig Williams, director of the Kentucky Environmental Foundation, says the decision to reevaluate is a smart one.
"Just to torch this building without knowing these particulars is just really irresponsible," Williams said.
Williams believes that even beyond the EPA, the city needs to seek out third-party experts, who are not tied to the government, to weigh in.
"There's no way to identify what sort of toxic material is going to be emitted from this process. It is counterintuitive," he said.
Meanwhile, businesses nearby the home like Highview Ice Cream and Coffee have concerns.
"We're not too far away as a business, [so] are we going to be OK staying open? Are we going to have to shut down for a couple of hours or a day?" asked store owner Camille Anderson-Linton, who said ultimately she just wants the safest resolution no matter how long it takes.
At Monday night's community meeting, Greenberg told the crowd that a controlled burn is still the likely option.
WHAS11 also reached out to the EPA Tuesday to get a better idea of what the federal agency will be looking for and how the clutter inside the home could impact its guidance to the city. As of Tuesday evening, we're still waiting for a response.
This story may be updated.
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