Keating says task force will focus on Tar Creek cleanup

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A state task force will investigate the Tar Creek area of Ottawa County and do "whatever it takes" to addressone of the nation's most polluted sites, Gov. Frank Keating says.

Friday, January 7th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A state task force will investigate the Tar Creek area of Ottawa County and do "whatever it takes" to addressone of the nation's most polluted sites, Gov. Frank Keating says. Environmental Secretary Brian Griffin will head the task force,which must submit a report by Oct. 1.

The former lead and zinc mining area of Ottawa County has been one of the most polluted sites on the Environmental Protection Agency's Super fund list since the early 1980s. Keating said the pollution historically has been considered a federal problem, and he wants to change that. "We need to look at it as a state," Keating said Thursday. "Are we doing everything we can to solve the problem? Are there other alternatives to be explored? Is there a possibility of litigation?"

A state task force last studied the area in 1979 and focused primarily on leakage of water from abandoned lead and zinc mines. The leakage turned Tar Creek orange. The cleanup focus in recent years, however, turned to lead-contaminated soil after Ottawa County children were found to have excessive blood lead levels.

Keating said the task force will examine everything the EPA and state have done to this point and explore other options. Among the problems to be studied are open mine shafts that are a safety hazard, Tar Creek runoff into Grand Lake, mountains of contaminated mine tailings known as "chat," and some 300 miles of tunnels and undermining that has created caverns and sink holes. Keating said he wants legislators, EPA officials, business officials and representatives of Indian tribes to serve on the panel. "They will have any resource I can provide," the governor said.