During the first part of the 20th Century, Treece, Kansas was a prosperous mining community. Treece is located in southeastern Kansas and, at one time, was a part of a "vast mining district" (Saulny, 2009) with land rich in lead, zinc, and iron ore. By the 1970s all the mines in the area had closed. All that remained of the land was a toxic dust. The EPA tried to clean up the land during the 1980s but the waste continued to cause problems in the area.
Less than a mile away from Treece, across the Oklahoma-Kansas state-line, is Picher, Oklahoma. Treece and Picher are apart of the same community. Well, at least they used to be apart of the same community. As of September 1, 2009, Picher was no longer a town. The federal government relocated the residents of Picher. However, approximately 140 residents of Treece remain living in the toxic community.
The remaining residents of Treece have been affected by the EPA's decisions to only relocated the residents of Picher. The residents have become isolated and abandoned in a toxic wasteland. There are no jobs and it is impossible to sell a home. The residents want to be relocated but the EPA has, so far, refused. The poverty level in Treece is over twice the national average (Saulny, 2009).
In his article, Konisky states that counties with higher levels of poverty have less regulatory enforcement (2009). This would be true for Treece, however, here the state and federal government have failed to appropriately respond to the town's environmental crisis. The poverty level is extremely high and the EPA refuses to relocate the few remaining residents.
During the 1990s, environmental justice made "a substantial leap forward" (Rast, 2006). All levels of government were to address and respond to real and perceived environmental inequities (Konisky, 2009). This was nearly two decades ago. Only recently, within the past few years, has the problem in Treece been addressed. It is still not resolved.
However, last month the EPA decided to take public comment regarding the relation of Treece residents.
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/722214A0DF961094852576C800734309
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