The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Local News

October 29, 2009

<img src=" http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/new.gif" border=0> Bill authorizing buyout of Treece, Kan., heads to Obama

A bill that would authorize the federal government to buy out and relocate remaining residents of Treece, Kan., has cleared Congress and is headed to President Obama, according to a release issued this evening by the office of U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas.

The buyout authority is a component of the 2010 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Conference Report that includes $15.3 million in projects for Kansas. An amendment to that report affords the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to relocate remaining Treece residents using buyouts of their homes.

Mine waste from decades of lead and zinc mining contaminate the town. Residents of Picher, Okla., neighboring Treece to the south, already have received a federal buyout from the EPA.

The current estimate for a Treece buyout is about $3 million. The EPA currently is using federal stimulus money to pay for a $66 million cleanup in Treece and Baxter Springs. That project may take 10 years.

Also included in the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Conference Report is $500,000 for restoration projects at the Colonial Fox Theater in Pittsburg, Kan.

Text Only
Local News
Sports
Facebook
Poll

Will the state’s decision not to help fund individual storm shelters following the May 22 tornado keep you from building one?

Yes.
No.
     View Results
Opinion
Business
Twitter Updates
Follow us on twitter
Follow me on Twitter
NDN Video
Killer of Fla. Girl Found in Landfill Gets Life Army Orders Bradley Manning Court-martial Cancer Charity Revives Breast-screening Grants Heavy Snowstorm Hits Colorado On Its Way East 2nd Teacher From LA School Arrested on Sex Claim Prosecutors Close Armstrong Inquiry, No Charges Sights and Sounds: Football Fans Pour Into Indy Unemployment Rate Down to 8.3% Obama: Still Far Too Many Americans Need Jobs GOP: Jobs Numbers Welcome, Can Do Better Fla. Man Adopts Girlfriend in Legal Battle More Deaths As Egypt Clashes Continue Raw Video: Prince William in Falklands Egpyt Protesters Blame Police for Soccer Deaths 'Lucky' 9-Year-Old Receives 6-Organ Transplant Raw Video: Michelle Vs. Ellen in Pushup Contest First Person: Will Peyton Manning Stay in Indy? Egypt Shaken After Deadly Soccer Riot New Suits, New Starts for New York's Unemployed Hall of Famer Dorsett Speaks Out on NFL Injuries
House Ads