Northeastern Oklahoma is home to one of the country’s most serious hazardous waste sites - the Tar Creek Superfund Site.
What is the Superfund? What is a Superfund Site?
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the nation became acutely aware of how destructive American industry had been of the environment and of human health. Across the country “disease clusters” were appearing - large numbers of people in small geographic areas suffering from serious diseases at unusually high rates. Upon investigation, it was discovered that many of these clusters correlated with chemical dumping by a variety of American businesses.
After years of activism by environmentalists, public health officials, and concerned citizens, the United States Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Responsibility and Cleanup Act, (“CERCLA”). CERCLA created the Superfund system. Superfund functions on the theory that “the polluter pays” for the cleanup of their pollution. Once a site of environmental contamination is declared a Superfund Site, the Environmental Protection Agency attempts to identify the party or parties responsible for the damage. If they can be identified, then they are required by law to pay for the cleanup. If the polluters cannot be identified or if they are out of business, then cleanup is paid four out of the Superfund’s Trust Fund.
Superfund Sites are generally the worst of the worst - complex, large-scale, and devastating sites of pollution. They usually involve cleanup that will take years to achieve and significant health hazards to any people, plants, or animals living in or around the Site. The EPA ranks the Superfund Sites based on their seriousness. When the Superfund was created in ______, the Tar Creek Superfund Site was #1 on the list. Today, ___ years later, Tar Creek is still #1 on the Superfund list.
What happened to make Tar Creek the #1 Superfund Site?
In a word, mining. For 80 years, northern Ottawa County and surrounding communities were aggressively mined for lead and other heavy metals by a succession of corporations. Most of the bullets fired by Americans during World War II came from these mines. As the lead was extracted from the earth, tons of waste rock was piled upon the land. Over time, this waste came to form the chat piles that now surround the former communities of Picher and Cardin. All in all, the mining companies dumped 80 million tons of mine waste on this land. That waste is loaded with particles of lead, zinc, and other metals that were too fine to be extracted during mining. When their mining operations were complete, the companies left the waste sitting on the land. They also did nothing to stop the metals still in the mines from leaching into Tar Creek, which flows through the mine field and is prone to flood during periods of heavy rain. Add in several Indian tribes who own portions of the affected land, other states, and downstream impacts as far away as Grand Lake, and the challenge of finding solutions becomes even greater.
How has human health been affected by pollution at Tar Creek?
The spread of the metals (by nature and by man) has resulted in serious air, water, and ground pollution throughout the surrounding waterways and communities. Health consequences have hit children the hardest and include developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, and lifelong behavioral consequences. Impacts on adults due to lead exposure include hypertension, ___________________, and ___________________.
What is the current status of Tar Creek?
Thanks to a lot of hard work by numerous agencies, citizens, and public health experts over the past years (especially the last 15 years or so), we are finally seeing meaningful progress to clean up Tar Creek. Everyone who wants to leave Picher and Cardin are gone to safer homes. Children whose health is forever altered because of lead exposure have received monetary compensation. Throughout the region, metal-polluted yards, alleys, and playgrounds are being replaced with lead-free soil or gravel. And slowly, those chat piles are coming down and being put to a safe use when possible or being stored safely when the can’t be used safely.
We at LA are proud to have been a part of creating these solutions. We recognize that many years of work remain before this land and people will be healed. We haven’t achieved everything we want, but at last we are seeing real progress. We are seeing children protected from further exposure to lead, and we are seeing our waters begin to run clear(er).
What can I do to help?
Write your Congressmen to help ensure that polluters continue to pay!
Despite the years of “waiting” for a solution, despite the setbacks and frustrations, the truth is that in one respect we have been very fortunate at Tar Creek. We have been able to benefit from the financial assistance the Superfund allows. That assistance may not be there for the next Tar Creek. It may not be there for *us* when the next big polluter decides to dump in our waters without concern for *our* health.
Really. The money may not be there. Not unless Congress takes action. Not unless they know the people still care after 30 years of trying to make the polluters pay.
What does Congress need to do? It needs to reauthorize the Superfund tax that puts money into the Superfund Trust Fund. “But why is there a tax and a trust fund if the polluter pays?” you ask. Because sometimes the polluter is out of business or bankrupt or because the EPA can’t figure out exactly who caused the pollution. When that happens, the Superfund Trust Fund pays for the cleanup.
That fund used to be financed by petroleum excise taxes, feedstock excise taxes, and environmental income taxes. But the fund is broke. It’s out of money because Congress allowed the Superfund taxes to expire in 1995. Since the end of fiscal year 2003, every penny remaining in the trust fund has been allocated to an existing cleanup effort. This means that the U.S. Treasury has paid for most Superfund activities since FY 2003. And *this* means that we, the taxpayers, are paying for the polluters’ dumping and damage.
So - please - write your Congressmen. Tell them you want them to reauthorize the Superfund tax, that you want the polluters to pay and for the Superfund to be there for your children and grandchildren. Tell them we can’t let the next Tar Creek go untreated. Tell them the polluters must continue to pay.
What is the Superfund? What is a Superfund Site?
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the nation became acutely aware of how destructive American industry had been of the environment and of human health. Across the country “disease clusters” were appearing - large numbers of people in small geographic areas suffering from serious diseases at unusually high rates. Upon investigation, it was discovered that many of these clusters correlated with chemical dumping by a variety of American businesses.
After years of activism by environmentalists, public health officials, and concerned citizens, the United States Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Responsibility and Cleanup Act, (“CERCLA”). CERCLA created the Superfund system. Superfund functions on the theory that “the polluter pays” for the cleanup of their pollution. Once a site of environmental contamination is declared a Superfund Site, the Environmental Protection Agency attempts to identify the party or parties responsible for the damage. If they can be identified, then they are required by law to pay for the cleanup. If the polluters cannot be identified or if they are out of business, then cleanup is paid four out of the Superfund’s Trust Fund.
Superfund Sites are generally the worst of the worst - complex, large-scale, and devastating sites of pollution. They usually involve cleanup that will take years to achieve and significant health hazards to any people, plants, or animals living in or around the Site. The EPA ranks the Superfund Sites based on their seriousness. When the Superfund was created in ______, the Tar Creek Superfund Site was #1 on the list. Today, ___ years later, Tar Creek is still #1 on the Superfund list.
What happened to make Tar Creek the #1 Superfund Site?
In a word, mining. For 80 years, northern Ottawa County and surrounding communities were aggressively mined for lead and other heavy metals by a succession of corporations. Most of the bullets fired by Americans during World War II came from these mines. As the lead was extracted from the earth, tons of waste rock was piled upon the land. Over time, this waste came to form the chat piles that now surround the former communities of Picher and Cardin. All in all, the mining companies dumped 80 million tons of mine waste on this land. That waste is loaded with particles of lead, zinc, and other metals that were too fine to be extracted during mining. When their mining operations were complete, the companies left the waste sitting on the land. They also did nothing to stop the metals still in the mines from leaching into Tar Creek, which flows through the mine field and is prone to flood during periods of heavy rain. Add in several Indian tribes who own portions of the affected land, other states, and downstream impacts as far away as Grand Lake, and the challenge of finding solutions becomes even greater.
How has human health been affected by pollution at Tar Creek?
The spread of the metals (by nature and by man) has resulted in serious air, water, and ground pollution throughout the surrounding waterways and communities. Health consequences have hit children the hardest and include developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, and lifelong behavioral consequences. Impacts on adults due to lead exposure include hypertension, ___________________, and ___________________.
What is the current status of Tar Creek?
Thanks to a lot of hard work by numerous agencies, citizens, and public health experts over the past years (especially the last 15 years or so), we are finally seeing meaningful progress to clean up Tar Creek. Everyone who wants to leave Picher and Cardin are gone to safer homes. Children whose health is forever altered because of lead exposure have received monetary compensation. Throughout the region, metal-polluted yards, alleys, and playgrounds are being replaced with lead-free soil or gravel. And slowly, those chat piles are coming down and being put to a safe use when possible or being stored safely when the can’t be used safely.
We at LA are proud to have been a part of creating these solutions. We recognize that many years of work remain before this land and people will be healed. We haven’t achieved everything we want, but at last we are seeing real progress. We are seeing children protected from further exposure to lead, and we are seeing our waters begin to run clear(er).
What can I do to help?
Write your Congressmen to help ensure that polluters continue to pay!
Despite the years of “waiting” for a solution, despite the setbacks and frustrations, the truth is that in one respect we have been very fortunate at Tar Creek. We have been able to benefit from the financial assistance the Superfund allows. That assistance may not be there for the next Tar Creek. It may not be there for *us* when the next big polluter decides to dump in our waters without concern for *our* health.
Really. The money may not be there. Not unless Congress takes action. Not unless they know the people still care after 30 years of trying to make the polluters pay.
What does Congress need to do? It needs to reauthorize the Superfund tax that puts money into the Superfund Trust Fund. “But why is there a tax and a trust fund if the polluter pays?” you ask. Because sometimes the polluter is out of business or bankrupt or because the EPA can’t figure out exactly who caused the pollution. When that happens, the Superfund Trust Fund pays for the cleanup.
That fund used to be financed by petroleum excise taxes, feedstock excise taxes, and environmental income taxes. But the fund is broke. It’s out of money because Congress allowed the Superfund taxes to expire in 1995. Since the end of fiscal year 2003, every penny remaining in the trust fund has been allocated to an existing cleanup effort. This means that the U.S. Treasury has paid for most Superfund activities since FY 2003. And *this* means that we, the taxpayers, are paying for the polluters’ dumping and damage.
So - please - write your Congressmen. Tell them you want them to reauthorize the Superfund tax, that you want the polluters to pay and for the Superfund to be there for your children and grandchildren. Tell them we can’t let the next Tar Creek go untreated. Tell them the polluters must continue to pay.
