{"id":28646,"date":"2017-09-15T12:31:49","date_gmt":"2017-09-15T17:31:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=28646"},"modified":"2017-09-15T14:46:51","modified_gmt":"2017-09-15T19:46:51","slug":"guarded-hope-at-oklahomas-abandoned-mine-as-epa-promises-focus-on-contaminated-sites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2017\/09\/15\/guarded-hope-at-oklahomas-abandoned-mine-as-epa-promises-focus-on-contaminated-sites\/","title":{"rendered":"Guarded Hope At Oklahoma\u2019s Abandoned Mine As EPA Promises Focus On Contaminated Sites"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_28653\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Rebecca Jim, executive director of the L.E.A.D Agency, at the nonprofit's headquarters in Miami, Okla.\" href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics061_WEB.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28653\" alt=\"Rebecca Jim, executive director of the L.E.A.D Agency, at the nonprofit's headquarters in Miami, Okla.\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics061_WEB.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"465\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics061_WEB.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics061_WEB-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics061_WEB-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics061_WEB-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics061_WEB-536x402.jpg 536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Joe Wertz \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rebecca Jim, executive director of the L.E.A.D Agency, at the nonprofit&#39;s headquarters in Miami, Okla.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Newly minted U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt spent his first months on the job steering the agency away from climate change to focus, in part, on cleaning up contaminated sites around the country.<\/p><p>The former Oklahoma attorney general has directed a task force to create a top-10 list of locations that need aggressive attention \u2014 welcome news at Superfund sites like Tar Creek in the northeastern corner of the state.<\/p><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/342501774&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=false\" height=\"150\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p><p><!--more-->The spot where Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma meet was once one of the world\u2019s largest sources of lead and zinc. About half of the lead and zinc the military needed in World War I was produced here, in 300 miles of caverns hollowed out underneath towns like Picher, Cardin and Commerce.<\/p><p>In 1983, Tar Creek became one of the first sites added to EPA\u2019s Superfund list. The law helps identify sites contaminated by dangerous substances, prevents hazards and makes responsible parties pay for cleanup.<\/p><p>Tar Creek is one of the oldest sites on a list of roughly 1,330 Superfund sites across the country. It\u2019s large and has a lot of public health risks. It\u2019s the kind of cleanup EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is signaling is a priority.<\/p><p>\u201cThere are many that have been on that National Priority List for decades, languishing for direction, leadership, answers,\u201d Pruitt told a U.S. House <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.c-span.org\/video\/?429947-1\/epa-administrator-pruitt-testifies-fy-2018-budget&sa=D&ust=1505350353720000&usg=AFQjCNFExQISUvLzE5IBfVyhROTOqiGv5g\">subcommittee<\/a> in June.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_28652\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Hills of mining waste known as 'chat' are scattered throughout the abandoned lead and zinc mine at the Tar Creek Superfund.\" href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics165_WEB.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28652\" alt=\"Hills of mining waste known as 'chat' are scattered throughout the abandoned lead and zinc mine at the Tar Creek Superfund.\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics165_WEB.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"465\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics165_WEB.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics165_WEB-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics165_WEB-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics165_WEB-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics165_WEB-536x402.jpg 536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Joe Wertz \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hills of mining waste known as &#39;chat&#39; are scattered throughout the abandoned lead and zinc mine at the Tar Creek Superfund.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Trust expired<\/h3><p>Mining in the tri-state district peaked in the 1920s and stopped by the \u201970s. The miners left town; Cave-ins, dangerous dust and caustic water remained. Blood tests showed elevated levels of lead in more than 40 percent of children in some communities.<\/p><p>Most residents took buyouts to leave the former mining towns, which are largely abandoned by anyone not driving a truck tasked with hauling off hills of gravelly waste called chat that fill the horizon like moon-colored dunes.<\/p><p>\u201cWe&#8217;re averaging an almost 3,000 tons a day of of chat to the repository,\u201d says Craig Kreman, assistant environmental director for the Quapaw tribe.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_28648\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"A mountain of waste rock outside a zinc concentrator near the Eagle-Picher plant near Cardin, Okla., in 1943. Production at the Tri-State Mining District peaked in the 1920s and largely stopped by 1970.\" href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/picher-LOC8b08321v.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28648\" alt=\"A mountain of waste rock outside a zinc concentrator near the Eagle-Picher plant near Cardin, Okla., in 1943. Production at the Tri-State Mining District peaked in the 1920s and largely stopped by 1970.\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/picher-LOC8b08321v.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/picher-LOC8b08321v.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/picher-LOC8b08321v-492x500.jpg 492w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/picher-LOC8b08321v-148x150.jpg 148w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/picher-LOC8b08321v-295x300.jpg 295w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/picher-LOC8b08321v-32x32.jpg 32w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/picher-LOC8b08321v-50x50.jpg 50w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/picher-LOC8b08321v-64x64.jpg 64w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Fritz Henle \/ Library of Congress<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mountain of waste rock outside a zinc concentrator near the Eagle-Picher plant near Cardin, Okla., in 1943. Production at the Tri-State Mining District peaked in the 1920s and largely stopped by 1970.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>The chat piles are just one part of the problem. Much of the ore was buried below the water table. When the companies left and stopped pumping the mines dry, the caverns filled up. Water carrying cadmium, lead and other toxic metals <a href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2015\/10\/01\/challenges-and-progress-cleaning-up-one-of-oklahomas-most-polluted-places\/\">bubbles to the surface<\/a> into Tar Creek and downstream into a critical watershed.<\/p><p>The EPA didn\u2019t respond to interview requests. In the testimony on Capitol Hill, representatives pressed Pruitt on how he could champion the Superfund program while simultaneously supporting a budget plan from President Trump that slashes the program\u2019s funding by nearly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2017\/04\/07\/president-trumps-budget-would-cut-superfund-toxic-cleanup-program-30\/100168436\/&sa=D&ust=1505350353719000&usg=AFQjCNHo0TnfdAXrKftgINwZg8kUe99NpQ\">one-third<\/a>.<\/p><p>\u201cIt\u2019s more about decision-making, leadership and management than money, presently,\u201d he said. Later, Pruitt told the committee he\u2019d push for more funding if he felt it were needed.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_28650\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"A worker brushes dusty mine waste off a truck before it exits the contaminated site.\" href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics032_WEB.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-28650\" alt=\"A worker brushes dusty mine waste off a truck before it exits the contaminated site.\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics032_WEB-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics032_WEB-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics032_WEB-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics032_WEB-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics032_WEB.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics032_WEB-536x402.jpg 536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Joe Wertz \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">A worker brushes dusty mine waste off a truck before it exits the contaminated site.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Katherine Probst, an independent consultant who has spent 20 years researching and evaluating EPA\u2019s Superfund program, says poor funding has plagued the program for decades.<\/p><p>\u201cThey don&#8217;t have the money to clean up an average Superfund site in most states,\u201d she says. \u201cThey just don&#8217;t have $25 million to clean up a site.\u201d<\/p><p>Superfund was initially funded by a trust fed by taxes on crude oil, chemicals and environmental taxes levied on corporations. Those taxes expired in 1995 and were not reauthorized. The money now comes by way of congressional appropriations. Research <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=9&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjXi6qBk6XWAhUIxFQKHftYAQAQtwIIVjAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.c-span.org%2Fvideo%2F%3F431990-1%2Fhearing-focuses-changes-epa-superfund-program&usg=AFQjCNEMIbF939YRNwhyC55iASEpblScXw\">from Probst<\/a> and the U.S. Government Accountability Office <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/products\/GAO-15-812&sa=D&ust=1505350353721000&usg=AFQjCNHI1D9K-a-E70Tq6A-TSUQYg00yjA\">shows<\/a> funding for Superfund has declined for nearly two decades \u2014 under Republican and Democratic administrations.<\/p><p>Probst says Superfund sites would benefit from clearing bureaucratic red tape, which Pruitt pledges to do. Technical problems are stalling progress at some sites. Others are delayed by foot-dragging by companies deemed responsible for contamination. Other roadblocks are unknown due to poor data about the sites and the health hazards they pose.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_28651\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"A truck filled with chat transports mining waste to a nearby repository near Picher, Okla. Some of it is processed and reused for asphalt, while the most contaminated chat is taken to specially designed landfills for long-term storage. More than 180 truckloads carrying 3,000 tons of waste are transported daily.\" href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics039_WEB.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28651\" alt=\"A truck filled with chat transports mining waste to a nearby repository near Picher, Okla. Some of it is processed and reused for asphalt, while the most contaminated chat is taken to specially designed landfills for long-term storage. More than 180 truckloads carrying 3,000 tons of waste are transported daily.\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics039_WEB.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"465\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics039_WEB.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics039_WEB-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics039_WEB-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics039_WEB-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics039_WEB-536x402.jpg 536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Joe Wertz \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">A truck filled with chat transports mining waste to a nearby repository near Picher, Okla. Some of it is processed and reused for asphalt, while the most contaminated chat is taken to specially designed landfills for long-term storage. More than 180 truckloads carrying 3,000 tons of waste are transported daily.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Mining money<\/h3><p>Rebecca Jim, the executive director for L.E.A.D. Agency, says the government\u2019s attention to Superfund faded alongside the tax money.<\/p><p>\u201cSuperfund is broke,\u201d she says.<\/p><p>Jim founded the nonprofit in the mid-\u201990s to organize and amplify local residents\u2019 concerns about the Tar Creek contamination and cleanup. The group\u2019s headquarters in nearby Miami has become an information hub about the contaminated site and a community center for local youth.<\/p><p>Jim would like Superfund\u2019s stream of tax money restored, but acknowledges that\u2019s likely a pipe dream.<\/p><p>\u201cYou get a good start in trying to do the clean up, but you just do a little at a time \u2014 that\u2019s all you can do,\u201d she says.<\/p><p>In 2012, the EPA signed an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/newsreleases\/epa-partners-quapaw-tribe-oklahoma-continue-cleanup-tar-creek-superfund-site-epa-awards&sa=D&ust=1505352887356000&usg=AFQjCNHai9PX9hTMz8munrcEu0xcBN2Ttw\">agreement<\/a> for the Quapaw to lead and manage the Tar Creek project \u2014 the first tribal-led cleanup of a federal Superfund site. Earlier this year, the agency awarded the tribe $4.8 million to clean up soil from contaminated tribal lands.<\/p><p>Jim says the tribal management is a positive development for Tar Creek.<\/p><p>\u201cWe&#8217;ve got some real hope to start restoring some larger pieces of land, but it costs money,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_28649\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Quapaw Assistant Environmental Director Craig Kreman stands in a section of the Tar Creek Superfund site where remediation efforts are nearly complete.\" href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics005_WEB.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28649\" alt=\"Quapaw Assistant Environmental Director Craig Kreman stands in a section of the Tar Creek Superfund site where remediation efforts are nearly complete.\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics005_WEB.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"465\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics005_WEB.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics005_WEB-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics005_WEB-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics005_WEB-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/09\/20170829-tar-creek-pics005_WEB-536x402.jpg 536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Joe Wertz \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Quapaw Assistant Environmental Director Craig Kreman stands in a section of the Tar Creek Superfund site where remediation efforts are nearly complete.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Contamination, \u2018celebration\u2019<\/h3><p>Top EPA officials recently traveled to northeastern Oklahoma for a tour of the Tar Creek Superfund site. Kreman with the Quapaw says the tribe hopes the agency\u2019s visit is a good sign.<\/p><p>\u201cWe took them up top a chat pile and they can see, for miles, the effects Tar Creek has had on the environment on the community,\u201d he says.<\/p><p>Kreman says Tar Creek still needs tens of millions in federal money to support a cleanup that will likely continue for decades. If Superfund\u2019s budget is slashed, Tar Creek will compete with others for a smaller slice of funding.<\/p><p>When the top-10 list comes out, Kreman and Jim hope Tar Creek is on it and that the contamination in their community <a href=\"http:\/\/newsok.com\/article\/3019175\">once again<\/a> is recognized as one of the country\u2019s most polluted places.<\/p><p>&#8220;Every single acre is a celebration. Every bit of water that&#8217;s cleaned up before it enters Tar Creek, that&#8217;s a celebration,&#8221; Jim says. &#8220;I&#8217;m just waiting for the big one. The big joy when it&#8217;s done.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Newly minted U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt spent his first months on the job steering the agency away from climate change to focus, in part, on cleaning up contaminated sites around the country.The former Oklahoma attorney general has directed a task force to create a top-10 list of locations that need aggressive attention [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":28648,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[491],"tags":[499,688,591,652],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28646"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28646"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28658,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28646\/revisions\/28658"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}