The National Zinc Trustee Council has opened a 30-day public comment period on the Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment associated with the National Zinc Corporation Superfund Site on the western edge of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The plan proposes restoration actions that could compensate the public for potential injuries to natural resources resulting from the historic releases of hazardous substances at the site from the use of smelters, chemical processing and associated industrial activities. The Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment will be available for comment through November 26th, 2023.
The National Zinc Trustee Council is composed of representatives from the Cherokee Nation, the Delaware Tribe of Indians, the Osage Nation, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, representing the U.S. Department of the Interior. Through the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program, the Trustee Council has worked to identify the natural resources injured, determine the extent of the injuries, recover damages from those responsible, and are now seeking public comment on their plan to carry out natural resource restoration activities. Through this program, injured natural resources can be restored at no cost to the taxpayer.
The Trustees will use approximately $1.3 million in settlement funds to further plan, implement and monitor one or more of the Preferred Alternatives described in this Recovery Plan and Environmental Assessment. These Preferred Alternatives are restoration actions that seek to restore, enhance, create or replace the equivalent natural resources and associated services of damaged natural resources. The draft plan proposes funding the planning and implementation of Alternative D, the Luttrell Memorial Pond Project, followed by planning and implementation for Alternatives C, the Bison Preserve Habitat Enhancement project, and B, the Dry Creek Restoration – Tallgrass Prairie Project, should funds remain.
These restoration actions are designed to restore terrestrial and aquatic habitat and their associated services lost due to the release of hazardous substances. Restoration activities will also provide co-benefits in the form of restoring, creating, or enhancing Tribal cultural resources and associated services.
The Draft RP/EA can be accessed online here. Arrangements can be made in advance to review or obtain copies of the document from the USFWS Oklahoma Ecological Services Field Office by contacting Jonathan Fisher at jonathan_fisher@fws.gov or 918- 382-4533.
The Trustees will review and consider all public comments received through November 26th, 2023. Comments may be submitted electronically to OK_Contaminants@fws.gov or via mail to:
National Zinc Trustee Council
9014 East 21st Street
Tulsa, OK 74129-1428
Please put “ATTN: 2023 National Zinc Draft RP/EA” in the subject line of comments. Oklahoma Ecological Service Field Office staff will be available to provide information and answer questions throughout the 30-day comment period. For more information, please contact jonathan_fisher@fws.gov.
