Cherokee County Cleanup

Residents of Cherokee County, Kansas have been living with the aftereffects of over 70 years of hard lead and zinc mining in southeastern Kansas for decades. This has left the area with piles of "chat" and lead contamination. The city of Treece, Kansas has been a part of the Tar Creek Superfund Site that extends south into Oklahoma. In April the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced to Treece, Kansas residents that their homes will be bought out and they can be relocated. Last week, Treece residents listened to a hearing in nearby Picher, Oklahoma as to how that buyout will be carried out.

Read about Treece from The New York Times

Learn about the buyout from the KC Tribune

Read about the EPA's restrictions on where Treece residents may relocate from the Pittsburg Morning Sun

Learn more about the history of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) involvment in Southeast Kansas at:
http://www.epa.gov/region7/cleanup/npl_files/ksd980741862.pdf

Read the report about the results of a public health screening event that occurred in Treece, Kansas on September 8th and 9th, 2009:
http://www.kdheks.gov/beh/download/Treece_Kansas.pdf

Read the report on zinc, lead, and cadmium in Tar Creek at:
http://www.kdheks.gov/tmdl/ne/TarCreek_Metals.pdf

Learn about other EPA cleanup sites in Kansas at:
http://www.epa.gov/region7/cleanup/npl_files/index.htm#Kansas


You can read more in print by interlibrary loaning state and federal documents from the State Library or the Kansas State Historical Society. Below are links to the online catalog for titles related to Cherokee County and the contamination:

Assessment of contaminated streambed sediment in the Kansas part of the historic Tri-State Lead and Zinc Mining District, Cherokee County, 2004 / by Larry M. Pope ; prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment Reston, Va. : U.S. Geological Survey, 2005

Radioactivity surveys in the Kansas part of the tri-state zinc and lead mining district, Cherokee County, Kansas / by Robert M. Dreyer

Assessment of water resources in lead-zinc mined areas in Cherokee County, Kansas, and adjacent areas / by Timothy B. Spruill

A study of stability problems and hazard evaluation of the Kansas portion of the tri-state mining area / [James R. McCauley, Lawrence L. Brady, Frank W. Wilson]
[Washington, D.C.?] : Bureau of Mines, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, [1983]

Abandoned non-fuel mineral pits and quarries in Kansas, 1995 / authors, David A. Grisafe, Jorgina A. Ross, Douglas L. Beene

Contamination of wells completed in the Roubidoux aquifer by abandoned zinc and lead mines, Ottawa County, Oklahoma [electronic resource] / by Scott Christenson ; prepared in cooperation with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board

Kansas Laws, etc
Mined Land Conservation and Reclamation Board : governing statutes and regulations
[Topeka, Kan. : Kansas Corporation Commission, 1986]

Article contact: Kim Harp

Kansas Oil

The current oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico has us all concerned about oil rig safety. Did you know that in 2009 Kansas had 45,579 oil wells across the state? In 2009 these oil wells produced 39,465,527 barrels of oil. Each well in the state is regulated by the Kansas Corporation Commission. Kansas Statute 55-152 gives the Kansas Corporation Commission authority to write regulations regarding oil and gas production and conservation in Kansas.

Kansas Corporation Commission:
www.kcc.state.ks.us

Pipeline Safety Regulations for Kansas:
http://www.kcc.state.ks.us/pipeline/pipeline_safety_regs_0609.pdf

Reports of monthly oil production in Kansas:
http://www.kcc.state.ks.us/conservation/production/index.htm

Kansas gas and oil production data from the Kansas Geological Survey:
http://www.kgs.ku.edu/PRS/petroDB.html

Map of Kansas oil and gas:
http://maps.kgs.ku.edu/oilgas/

Interested in Kansas oil? Learn more:
www.kgs.ku.edu/Publications/Oil/index.html

If you notice an oil spill in your area, contact the National Response Center:
http://www.nrc.uscg.mil/nrchp.html

Clean up procedures from the Kansas Corporation Commission:
http://www.kcc.state.ks.us/conservation/cleanup_brochure.htm

Notice an abandoned oil well in your area? Report it at:
http://www.kcc.state.ks.us/conservation/reported_abandoned.cgi

Before you dig on your property, make sure there aren't gas, oil or electric pipes or lines running underground:
www.kansasonecall.com/

Kansas Oil Museum in Butler County:
http://www.kansasoilmuseum.org/



Article contact: Kim Harp

Recycling Resources

Recycling is a positive way to impact your community and the world. Recycling and purchasing recycled material benefits the environment and recycling also creates jobs. Check out the links below, provided by federal, state, local and private sources for more information:

Recycling (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/recycle.htm
---Recycling old computers
---Create your own compost pile
---Consumer tips
---Consejos para Consumidores
---Municipal Solid Waste in the United States
---Recycling Publications
---Buy Recycled
---Common Wastes and Materials
---Recycling Market Development

Get Caught Recycling!
http://www.getcaughtrecycling.org/
(The Kansas Department of Health and Environment)

Kansas Green Teams
http://www.kansasgreenteams.org/
(The Green Team program was created as a way for you to make a difference by incorporating environmentally responsible practices into your daily routine at work and at school.)

Kansas Don't Spoil it!
http://www.kansasdontspoilit.com/
(Sponsored by the Kansas Bureau of Waste Management. Kansas is a clean state, and we want to keep it that way. We began the KDSI campaign, an awareness and education program, to encourage Kansans to reduce, reuse and recycle waste and keep their state in a beautiful condition. We aim to keep the Kansas environment top-of-mind so that every Kansan will do what's needed to "keep it clean" to minimize the amount of waste entering the environment.)

Kansas Recycles
http://kansasrecycles.org/

Why recycle?
http://www.co.shawnee.ks.us/recycling/whyrecycle.shtm
(Shawnee County Recycling, Kansas)

Find a Kansas Recycling Program
http://kansasrecycles.org/find-a-recycling-program
(Provided by the Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment)

Kansas Organization of Recyclers
http://www.kskor.org/
(The Kansas Organization of Recyclers is a non-profit, membership based network of representatives from government, industry, non-profit and public entities and individuals that support environmental stewardship through waste reduction, composting, reuse, recycling, and
sustainable efforts in Kansas.)

Find a recycling center near you
http://earth911.org/
(Type in your zip code and see what's nearby you)

SOME PUBLICATIONS ISSUED BY K-STATE RESEARCH AND EXTENSION

Glass Recycling: Just How Clear Is It? (1995)
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/solw2/ep24.pdf
Green Confusion (1995)
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/solw2/ep18.pdf
Leaf Recycling (1995)
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/solw2/ep12.pdf
Recycling Grass Clippings (2001)
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/hort2/mf2110.pdf
Resources for Recycling (1991)
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/agec2/samplers/c724.asp
Tips for Home and Yard (1998)
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/hort2/mf2132.pdf
Using Wood Chips for Mulch (2006)
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/hort2/mf2133.pdf