Override Saves Millions For Superfund Site

Thursday, November 8th 2007, 2:53 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A $23 billion water resources bill enacted Thursday in the Senate will preserve $30 million to complete relocation assistance for residents living in the Tar Creek Superfund site.

President Bush initially vetoed the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, but suffered the first veto override of his presidency after the Senate enacted it with a 79-14 vote.

Earlier this week, the House of Representatives voted 361-54 to override the president's veto. Senator Tom Coburn was the only Oklahoma member of the House or Senate to vote against the override.

Bush had claimed the bill contained unnecessary projects and faced opposition from members of his own party.

"The WRDA bill is not a spending bill, it is an authorizing bill," said Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe. "It simply sets out which projects and programs are allowed to get in line for future funding and sets the maximum amount of money that can be funded."

If Bush prevailed with a veto, residents in Tar Creek would have been dealt "a major setback," said Miles Tolbert, the state's secretary of the environment.

"It would have created a situation where half the people in the town were moved and half were not," Tolbert said Thursday. "This is a big step in keeping that from happening."

Tar Creek, a 40-square-mile area that also takes in portions of Missouri and Kansas, was one of the world's most productive regions for lead and zinc. Today, it's one of the oldest and largest Superfund cleanup sites in the country.

The water bill authorizes the funds to finish relocation assistance for residents of Picher, Cardin and Hockerville. It also provides the authority required by the Environmental Protection Agency to re-evaluate remediation plans at Tar Creek.

Additionally, the bill authorizes $50 million for ecosystem restoration, recreation and flood damage reduction in the Arkansas River.

"While final enactment of this bill is long overdue, I am particularly pleased to see such strong, overwhelming bipartisan support of this important bill," Senator Jim Inhofe said.

In the past few years, Picher parents worried about their children's health have flooded the school district with transfer applications, and a federal buyout program is speeding up the exodus.

Last year, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study found more than 100 homes in Picher were in danger of collapsing into old mines. Dust from mountains of chat blow through town, cave ins and sinkholes have swallowed up homes and children. The creek runs orange with acidic mine water, and the air and soil are polluted with lead dust.

High lead levels have been found in the blood of local children, but no studies have been done on its effects on the youngsters around Picher, a dying town of about 1,000.

Related Stories:

10/3/2006 Group Gets Buyout Requests From Tar Creek Area

10/15/2006 Residents Of Mine-Polluted Ottawa County Town Preparing For Buyout

11/13/2006 Officials To Give Tar Creek Buyout Information

12/19/2006 Appraisals Begin For Tar Creek Federal Buyout

2/12/2007 Voters Deciding Fate Of School District

2/12/2007 Tar Creek Trust Says Land Was Given Away

3/3/2007 Oklahoma Town Is A Toxic Waste Site

4/7/2007 Delay In Offers, Low Assessments Worry Some Tar Creek Residents

5/10/2007 Tar Creek Buyout Continues Amid Funding Concerns

5/18/2007 Tar Creek Pollution Called Regional Problem

6/30/2007 Former Lawmaker To Lead Tar Creek Trust

8/2/2007 Coburn Criticizes Spending Priorities On Water Projects Bill

8/28/2007 EPA Presents Plan For Latest Phase To Clean Up Superfund Site

10/31/2007 AG Wants Mining Company To Pay Up For Cleanup