Ottawa County residents upset with how the Tar Creek Superfund site is being managed

Residents living in Picher-Cardin aren't happy with the way millions of dollars worth in state matching funds are being spent to address the Tar Creek Superfund Site in Ottawa County. <br><br>They

Tuesday, September 10th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Residents living in Picher-Cardin aren't happy with the way millions of dollars worth in state matching funds are being spent to address the Tar Creek Superfund Site in Ottawa County.

They say the money should be used to address health and safety issues. But some say it's just more money and time wasted. News on Six reporter Patrina Adger has the story.

Bobbe Burnett has lived in Picher all her life and has deep roots here. Her family has two businesses here. Her husband children and grandchildren all live here near the Tar Creek Superfund Site. â€œI would have never stayed here if I knew the dangers that my kids are facing today." In the last two years, Burnett's daughter and grandson have both developed tumors and Burnett's husband is on a respirator 24 hours a day.

Doctors tell her it's a result of the chat mounds that have become a permanent fixture throughout town. "They had to close the water fountain at the school. My daughterâ€™s cold water stopped. She's got a purifier and you should have seen what came out."

Picher-Cardin residents and their representatives addressed the media to discuss the $4-million Superfund. Tar Creek Basin Steering Committee Chairman John Spankman says residents are frustrated because they never had a say on how that money is being spent. â€œThey feel like their voices aren't being heard prolonging the agony." Spankman says out of the $4-million, only $200,000 is actually being spent on the project.

$200,000 is used to assess damage to natural resources. The other 3.6-million is being spent on additional studies and pet projects. "They feel the $4-million has been wasted on certain political projects and it doesn't get any closer to the final solution and that's what people want here."

Burnett says the $100-million the federal and state government already spent trying to correct the problem could have move residents in Picher-Cardin three times over. She says the blood, sweat and years she put into her home is worth nothing now. "I think they should get us outta here. I don't care whether they move us out, you know, buy us out or whatever."

Congressman Brad Carson already committed $300,000 for the US Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a study to develop a solution to the problem. And residents have waited a year for the state to match those funds.