Quapaw Tribe opposes federal settlement proposal

A settlement proposed by the U.S. Department of Justice with three parties that have been linked to the contamination at the Tar Creek Superfund site is being opposed by the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma.

Superfund sites are abandoned areas with hazardous waste. The area, which had been used for mining, is said to have caused Quapaw people and those of other tribes in the region harm from pollution since the site was abandoned in the 1970s, according to Tulsa World.

The Joplin Globe reports the federal government already has spent roughly $331 million cleaning up the site. It's expected it would take more than $1 billion to complete the cleanup work.

The settlement proposal is $15 million, which Quapaw Tribe Chairman John Berrey said was "unacceptable."

The parties are the Doe Run Resources Corp., NL Industries and the U.S. Department of Interior. Under the proposed consent decree, Doe Run would pay $3.4 million for the cleanup, NL Industries would pay $6.6 million and the DOI would pay $5 million.

Read more from The Joplin Globe.