The Rights of Tar Creek in Miami, Oklahoma: An Interview with Rebecca Jim of LEAD Agency

Once a place for the community to gather and for children to play, Tar Creek is now unsafe for the people of Miami, Oklahoma, due to water pollution from lead and zinc mining in the region.  

 The Local Environmental Action Demanded (LEAD) Agency advocates for the natural environment in response to this contamination. In our interview, Rebecca Jim, the Executive Director of the LEAD Agency, shares how the organization aims to restore Tar Creek to its former glory. The LEAD Agency is working with the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights (CDER) to establish the Rights of Tar Creek through their Clean Water Protection Ordinance.

In the Fall of 2021, CDER Partner Anthropocene Alliance wrote on the L.E.A.D. Agency, Inc. campaign to recognize the rights of nature to clean water. The article is publicly available here.

History of Tar Creek 

To paint the picture of the problems associated with Tar Creek, Rebecca told a story from 1979 of a local resident of Ottawa County (where Miami is located) who noticed orange water coming out of the ground. The resident owned a brick factory and a horse field. The gentleman produced bricks of many colors, however it was the water coming out of the ground that stained his horses, and the stains would not wash off.  

Residents eventually connected the polluted water to pre-existing lead and zinc mining in the area. The Tri-State Mining District revolved around rich zinc and lead ores, and was composed of southwestern Missouri, southeastern Kansas, and northeastern Oklahoma. Companies mined the region in the early-to-mid 1900s for materials to make bullets for both World Wars, operating until it was no longer profitable. Companies drained the aquifer for mining purposes. However, after the companies left, the aquifer refilled and contained toxic mining waste. The aquifer overflowed in 1979 and began to pollute Tar Creek. 

The EPA designated Tar Creek as a Superfund Site in 1983, but unsafe conditions from high levels of lead, zinc, cadmium, and other metals still remain after 38 years. The U.S. EPA explains that Superfund status is assigned to areas contaminated by hazardous waste that is dumped or improperly managed. Typically, the polluter is responsible for the clean-up funds, but the EPA provides the funding at Tar Creek, as the responsible mining companies have since gone bankrupt or closed. Rebecca described the annual funding from the EPA as “a drop in the bucket.” Without adequate funds, she said, there is no way to receive justice for the creek or the people of Miami. 

The Impacts of Contamination on the Ecosystem and the People of Miami 

The lead and zinc contamination severely impacted the ecosystem surrounding Tar Creek, making it uninhabitable for the plants, fowl, fish, and animal populations that once flourished there. In 1995, when Miami had its first fishing tournament on Tar Creek, there were no fish. The pollution in the creek makes it difficult for fish and plants to live. Rebecca pointed out that fish and plants are “things a creek should have as a part of its existence and to provide water. If the water flowing through it is not good, it cannot do its job.” 

In addition to the ecological impacts, the pollution also causes environmental justice problems in Miami. Twenty percent of the population of Ottawa County are members of nine tribal nations in the area. As Rebecca explained, studies show that in the 1990s, nearly one third of tribal children in the area had dangerous levels of lead in their blood. This, she added, came from the contaminated water and debris from the mines--known as “chat”--which remains in soil and dust. Today, 3% of children in the area show high levels of lead in their blood, which is still higher than the national average.  

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that adolescent exposure to lead can damage the brain and nervous system, impede growth and development, and eventually cause academic underperformance. To explain the gravity of this situation, Rebecca told me, “When children are lead poisoned, you change the potential of a community.” With these ecological and human health impacts in mind, the LEAD Agency is advocating for clean water for the sake of the natural environment and for the community’s future. 

Tribal Peoples in the Region 

As Rebecca shared in our interview, the tribes that now live in Northeast Oklahoma were removed from their traditional lands and relocated to the region by the U.S. government. Further, they were given a fraction of land to compensate for the land they were removed from.  

Tribal governments continued to lose even more when mineral ores were discovered in the area, such as lead and zinc. The mining led to the contamination of their lands and water. This brought severe health impacts and limited how tribal peoples interact with the land and the creek.  

As an indigenous woman herself, Rebecca shared, “Even though these are what we ended up with, they are our boundaries, and there is something to really protect.” Despite these injustices, the tribal nations in Ottawa County remain environmental stewards to ensure a healthy environment for future generations.  

The LEAD Agency on Tar Creek 

The LEAD Agency assembled in 1997 with the goal of protecting the natural environment of Tar Creek. As an environmental justice organization, the LEAD Agency works to solve environmental and human health problems in Miami. Despite a lack of sufficient funds for the Superfund Site, the organization remains resilient and continues to pursue justice for the community and Tar Creek. The LEAD Agency frequently meets with state officials and the EPA to express their ongoing concerns regarding the problems at Tar Creek and to seek adequate resources to clean up the Superfund Site. 

The Clean Water Protection Ordinance --Recognizing Rights of Tar Creek 

The LEAD Agency drafted the Clean Water Protection Ordinance with CDER and is advancing it as a citizen-sponsored initiative. Currently, the LEAD Agency is in the process of collecting signatures to place the Ordinance onto the ballot for a vote by the people of Miami. The Ordinance would establish the right to clean water and legally recognize the rights of Tar Creek to exist, regenerate, and flourish. Securing these rights would allow for a healthy Tar Creek that supports a natural ecosystem and give the community a place to gather and play once again. 

In Rebecca’s words, through the proposed Ordinance, Tar Creek will have “her own rights to flow and regenerate, to be that thing that she was destined to be, to be able to provide a home for every living creature that could live there, and should be living there, and has not been. That’s not wrong to ask for those things. Not at all.” 

This Ordinance is part of the Rights of Nature movement, which secures legal rights for the natural environment, such as ecosystems and species. CDER provided assistance with the drafting of the Clean Water Protection Ordinance and assists with Rights of Nature measures worldwide. 

Thus far, the Clean Water Protection Ordinance has unanimous support from the local intertribal council and strong approval from citizens of Miami, Oklahoma. Additionally, the Ordinance is bringing the community in Miami together for a cause. Rebecca explained that due to the Ordinance, “We have people believing that they have power that never had.” 

How can you Ensure Clean Water Where You Live? 

Water quality and pollution issues exist worldwide. When explaining the sacredness of water, Rebecca expressed, “We have no life without water, and our quality of life is lessened if the water that we do have is not good.” The work at Tar Creek is serving as a powerful example for other communities to ensure that everybody has access and the right to clean water, as well as protect the right of waterways to flourish in their natural state. 

Similar to the LEAD Agency, you can raise awareness of the Rights of Nature movement in your area by connecting with your fellow community members and acknowledging nature’s right to exist and thrive in its natural state. If you are interested in advancing the Rights of Nature in your own community, contact CDER at info@centerforenvironmentalrights.org. To learn more, visit our website https://centerforenvironmentalrights.org.