![]() Jim’s primary collaborator was Community Science Fellow Jessica Tran, who worked with environmental scientists and cartographers to develop the interactive map that includes the specific locations of chat, aquifers, and groundwater wells, as well as the locations of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assessed properties. The map project began in 2020, when Jim, a member of the Cherokee Nation, partnered with Thriving Earth Exchange to create a tool that could visually showcase what happens when Tar Creek floods. Just one of several towers of toxic waste known as “chat,” that’s inside the Tar Creek Superfund Site. “The region has experienced increased flooding in recent years and will likely see more due to climate change,” said Jim. ![]() LEAD Agency’s new map shows that when Tar Creek floods, the county not only suffers the impact of toxic creekwater, but also direct contamination from towers of toxic waste known as “chat,” which loom up to 200 feet over the landscape. A screenshot of the interactive map: Tar Creek Superfund Site - Floodplain Impacts and Other Potential Risks. So this new map really shows what we simply couldn’t see during flooding events,” said Rebecca Jim, Executive Director of LEAD Agency. So, it’s a real eye opener to see those chat piles in the floodplain, sitting in water that flows in, and takes that material into the lakes and rivers that people in the area drink from. We can’t get there when it’s flooded and no one had ever seen where the water floods go when we have major flooding events like what we saw in 2019 and also back in 2007. When there’s flooding, those roads around Miami and inside the Tar Creek Superfund Site, are closed. “That was what absolutely shocked us was what we didn’t know. The map reveals that piles of toxic mining waste currently lie within the Tar Creek floodplain, leaving Ottawa County even more vulnerable to heavy metals contamination. State Chamber of Oklahoma rates OK a bottom ten state for health care
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