Cleanup is underway at the Beaver Creek Unrestricted Tier 1 Project within the Tar Creek Superfund Site in Quapaw, Oklahoma. The Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma, working under an intergovernmental agreement with the State of Oklahoma, has started work that includes:

• The excavation and offsite disposal of approximately 65,000 tons of chat and other mine and mill waste.
• The onsite treatment of contaminated soil.
• Institutional controls, such as deed notices, which will help ensure the appropriate reuse of the site.

Cleanup work on the site will continue into September of 2016. Removal of mining waste materials is part of the non-residential cleanup at the Tar Creek Superfund Site. These materials contain lead, cadmium and zinc concentrations above the remedial action goals established to be protective of human health and the ecological environment. The project is near rural residences and includes sampling, testing, and remediation of yards, if necessary. The project site is near the Catholic 40 site where the Quapaw Tribe completed a similar cleanup under a first-ever tribal lead cooperative agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

For more information about the Tar Creek Superfund Site or the Beaver Creek Unrestricted Tier 1 Project, contact Zach Paden, Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality Project Manager, at (405) 702-5166. The project is being funded through a grant from EPA to the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. For more information about the Tar Creek Superfund Site, visit https://www.deq.ok.gov/land-protection-division/cleanup-redevelopment/superfund/

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