Thu, Nov 26 2009
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Published October 29, 2009 10:31 pm - TREECE, Kan. — The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed legislation that includes authority for the buyout of residents in the former mining town of Treece. The authority is included in the 2010 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Conference Report, and will head to President Barack Obama’s desk for his signature into law. Authority for Treece buyout approved by U.S. Senate By Roger McKinney rmckinney@joplinglobe.com TREECE, Kan. — The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed legislation that includes authority for the buyout of residents in the former mining town of Treece. The authority is included in the 2010 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Conference Report, and will head to President Barack Obama’s desk for his signature into law. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson issued a statement that the EPA was on board. “EPA has determined that relocation is the primary option to address the concerns of Treece residents — just as it was in neighboring Picher, Okla.,” Jackson said. U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said he had received a phone call from Jackson to that effect. “I’m very pleased,” Roberts said by phone. “It’s been a long, dusty, chat-covered road.” Roberts said he expects the president to sign the measure in the next few days, and he is confident that it will lead to a buyout of Treece residents. “This will be on a fast track,” Roberts said. Roberts credited U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.; U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla.; and U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan., for advancing the measure. Residents of Treece, like those in Picher, have suffered from the ill effects of mine waste left over from decades of lead and zinc mining. The results of blood-lead screening last month on 73 Treece residents found that they are consistently exposed to environmental lead hazards, and that children from birth to age 6 are three times as likely as children elsewhere in the state to have elevated levels of lead in their blood. The report found that a Treece resident’s median blood-lead level is 4 milligrams per deciliter of blood, while the statewide norm is 2.5 milligrams per deciliter. Gayla Woodcock, a Treece resident who has been a longtime advocate for a buyout, said she has confidence that a buyout is coming. 
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