An Oklahoma travesty, via Joni:
May 2005 Engineer Update
In the 50-square-mile part of Oklahoma known as the Tar Creek Superfund Site, tainted waters run orange in creeks and streams, poisonous mountains of chat (mining cast-off) define the horizon, hundreds of dangerous and deteriorating open mineshafts dot the landscape, sinkholes constantly threaten, and children have high blood lead levels.A partnership including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Interior, with support from the state of Oklahoma and Quapaw Tribe, is stepping in to clean up the area.
An unprecidented coalition of federal agencies, the state of Oklahoma and tribal governments are working on addressing this really critical area. No mention, of course, of the mining companies that created the problem.