I agree the money could be put to better use, but it’s not even being proposed. The money is just being used as an excuse to swat down people that have been swatted down their entire lives.

That’s exactly it. At least keep talking to them and try to find a middle ground proposal.

I’m not a fan of going ahead with the search. The risks to the searchers and the environment (risk of toxic leaching, etc) is too great in my opinion.

So the article links to another which mentions a report that was made on the feasibility of conducting the search, and it seems that this is disputed somewhat. It’s claimed by the other side that there is a way to conduct the search in relative safety, and the report outlines what measures would need to be taken.

Anyways, I find myself in complete agreement with what you wrote:

Maybe it wouldn’t have become so dangerous and impractical if we had taken action on this much earlier. The delays have made it worse and each continued delay makes it even moreso I expect.

To me, the above is an argument for starting the search now (instead of waiting longer and making it even riskier and more expensive later).