Oklahoma Auditor Alleges Overspending On Tar Creek Site

Oklahoma's auditor says a cleanup contract for the heavily polluted Tar Creek Superfund site cost five times more than it should have.

Auditor Gary Jones has renewed his call for a 2011 audit.  He accused the attorney general's office of covering up corruption at the site "by withholding a public document, paid for with public funds and conducted on behalf of the public."

Jones alleges that the Lead-Impacted Communities Relocation Assistance Trust "spent over $3.6 million on a project when the cost could have been less than $600,000."

Jones also accuses former Attorney General Scott Pruitt, who now heads the Environmental Protection Agency, of impropriety in his decision to show the audit to the trust's attorney.

An open records lawsuit filed in November seeks the audit's release. A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 23.

2/24/2017 Related Story: More Clean-Up, Studies Needed At Tar Creek Superfund Site

The Associated Press contributed to this report.