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EPA Pledges $16M Per Year for Tar Creek Superfund Cleanup

Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency has pledged more than $16 million annually for the continued cleanup of toxic mine waste at the heavily polluted Tar Creek Superfund Site in northeastern Oklahoma.

Superfund is a law that gives the EPA funding and authority to clean up contaminated sites. Tar Creek, in Ottawa County, covers a 40-square-mile area and is one of the nation's oldest, most complex Superfund sites.

The Tulsa World reports the EPA, in collaboration with Oklahoma and the Quapaw Nation, announced Monday that their plan is open for a 30-day public evaluation. The plan provides an update on cleanup progress and establishes framework for cleaning up mining waste in Ottawa County over the next five years.

The EPA is expected to release a final Tar Creek Strategic Plan this summer.