Blackwell accepts $54 million pollution settlement
Filed by Gail Banzet in Business, Health, Local News, News.
February 8, 2010
BLACKWELL, Okla. (AP) – Blackwell officials have accepted a $54 million settlement in a lawsuit against an international mining company whose entity was blamed for pollution in the northern Oklahoma city.
The city sued Freeport-McMoRan Cooper & Gold Inc. in October, alleging that area soil and groundwater were contaminated with lead, zinc, cadmium and arsenic as a result of mining operations by Blackwell Zinc Co. from 1916 to 1974.
According to a statement released Friday, Freeport-McMoRan will be reponsible for remediating soil and groundwater in accordance with Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality requirements.
A spokesman for Phoenix-based Freeport didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.
Blackwell Mayor Mark Cordell called the settlement “historic in scope,” and said the settlement will be used to develop groundwater, smelter material and soil management programs.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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