Tar Creek Superfund Site NE Oklahoma. Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma

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1 Tar Creek Superfund Site NE Oklahoma Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma

2 Introduction Tar Creek site is part of the Tri-State Mining District which comprises approximately 300 sq. mi. in Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Principal metals mined were lead and zinc. Mining peaked in Missouri around 1916, then shifted to Kansas and Oklahoma where it finally ceased in the 1970s.

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4 Ore Deposits in the Tar Creek Area Were Found in the Boone Formation (Limestone) at Depths of 100 to 300 Ft.

5 Introduction KS and MO portions of Tri- State Mining District in EPA Region 7, while OK portion (Tar Creek) in Region 6. Contamination at the Tar Creek site originates from 45 sq. mi. of metals laden mine waste ( chat ) and tailings ponds. Old mine workings also leach heavy metals into groundwater and surface water. The upper reaches of the Tar Creek drainage basin is almost entirely within the superfund site and receives much of the acid mine runoff and surface seeps.

6 Introduction Tar Creek was added to the National Priority List (NPL) of Superfund Sites in Downstream areas being affected by the Tar Creek site include Spring River and Grand Lake of the Cherokees. Spring River and Grand Lake of the Cherokees are not currently part of the Superfund site. However according to studies by the USGS, they are receiving close to 13 tons of heavy metals per day.

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13 Remediation to date Surface Water diversions (OU1: 1987) 83 water wells plugged and abandoned (OU1: late 1980s) 1600 yards replaced (OU2: ) Non-residential mine waste (OU4) is currently being addressed.

14 Tribal Involvement Nine tribes were moved to NE Oklahoma from various areas of the country by treaty in the 1800s. The Quapaw Tribe was moved to northeast Oklahoma from their ancestral homelands in what is now Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma through a series of treaties in the 1800s Lead and Zinc discovered on Quapaw tribal lands in the early 1900s.

15 Tribal Involvement The BIA acted as trustee on behalf of Quapaw Tribal Members and entered into mine lease agreements with mining companies. Promising economic benefits from mine waste ( chat ), the BIA required that Mining companies leave chat on tribal mining leases.

16 Tribal Involvement Nearly all of mined land within the Superfund Site is within Quapaw territory by treaty. Due to restrictions imposed by the BIA on the sale of chat, the Quapaw Tribe and its members have yet to realize significant economic benefit from the chat, while private haulers continue to sell chat. Eight other tribes are downstream of the Tar Creek site and are undoubtedly being affected by migration of contaminants.

17 Tribal Involvement Many of the Quapaw Tribe s cultural resources (food sources, sacred places, etc.) have been lost due to mine waste contamination. Economic development of Quapaw Tribal land within the Superfund site has been impossible due to the restrictions on the sale of chat and the continuing presence of mine waste contamination.

18 Tribal Involvement In 1994, the EPA received test results from the Indian Health Service which revealed that approximately 35% of Indian children tested had concentrations of lead in their blood which exceeded 10 micrograms per deciliter, the level considered elevated by the Centers for Disease Control. This finding ultimately prompted the EPA to begin the cleanup, in the late 1990s, of high public access areas and residential yards where lead concentrations in the soil exceeded 500 parts per million (PPM).

19 Tribal Involvement The Quapaw Tribe has insisted (to the EPA, the State of Oklahoma, and other federal agencies) that the Tribe be involved in the selection of the method of remediation for the cleanup of the mine waste and the areas affected by mine waste. The Quapaw Tribe is pursuing Natural Resource Damage Claims against the PRPs under Superfund statutes.

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21 Competing Interests The Quapaw Tribe would like the site to be remediated, but would also like to be compensated for chat as promised. The BIA (DOI) has been named as a PRP due to agreements entered into with mining companies. Can the DOI be objective when seeking natural resource damages from the PRPs? Most residents in the Superfund Site have part of a government buyout, but the Quapaw Tribe has not been bought out and has continued to experience the loss of natural resources.

22 Competing Interests State of Oklahoma has shown considerable interest in creating a World Class Wetlands which, they feel, might provide a holistic solution to the Tar Creek problem. This idea has been challenged by other stakeholders. EPA Regions 6 and 7 must coordinate to some degree on issues that affect the Tri- State Mining District as a whole. This has the potential to create inconsistencies between the cleanup in Tar Creek and the cleanup of Treece across the state line in Kansas.

23 NRDA ISSUES MO and KS are much further along in the NRDA process. Would it be better to join with these NRDA groups or continue on a different track? Difficult for tribes to quantify damages for natural and cultural resources (assigning dollar amounts to fish, plants, etc. is a foreign concept to tribes). There are many conflicting interests between tribes.

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