Editing Blackwell, Oklahoma (section)

===Zinc smelter===
[[Image:Blackwell Oklahoma Zinc Smelter 1958.jpg|thumb|Blackwell Zinc Smelter (Photograph used for a story in the Daily Oklahoman newspaper, September 23, 1958. Caption: 'The Blackwell Zinc Co. smelter employs upward of 1,000 persons in Blackwell and contributes an annual industrial payroll to the city estimated at $4 millions.')]]
The Blackwell Zinc Company smelter first began operations in 1917.<ref name="BL007"/> In 1974, the 80-acre<ref name=Welch>Welch, Judy, "[http://www.newscow.net/story.php?StoryID=1744 Oklahoma town suing over contamination] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080530232939/http://www.newscow.net/story.php?StoryID=1744 |date=2008-05-30 }}", ''News Cow'', April 17, 2008</ref> Blackwell Zinc Smelter facility ceased operations.<ref>[http://blackwelluncovered.com/uploads/Operational_History.pdf Blackwell Zinc Co. Operational History Report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708012637/http://blackwelluncovered.com/uploads/Operational_History.pdf |date=July 8, 2011 }}, ''United States Environmental Protection Agency''</ref> At the time, it was the city's largest employer, employing 800 people in 1972, and over 1,000 at its peak.<ref name=BL007 /> It also was one of the largest zinc smelter facilities in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20100208006210/en |title=City of Blackwell, Oklahoma Receives Major Settlement in Environmental Case |access-date=2010-09-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708105116/http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20100208006210/en |archive-date=2011-07-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref> After its closure the land was donated to the Blackwell Industrial Authority (BIA).<ref name=Deed>"[http://blackwelluncovered.com/uploads/Blackwell_Zinc_to_BIA_March_1978.pdf Warranty Deed] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708012728/http://blackwelluncovered.com/uploads/Blackwell_Zinc_to_BIA_March_1978.pdf |date=July 8, 2011 }}" December 30, 1974</ref> Soil from the land was repurposed throughout the city, leading to widespread contamination of air and water, including the [[Chikaskia River]].<ref name=Welch/>  [[Corliss Steam Engine (Pawnee, Oklahoma)|One of the plant's two Corliss stationary steam engines]] was moved to Pawnee Oklahoma and preserved; this engine is run for viewing by the public on the first weekend of May.

The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality has been overseeing remediation of contamination at the industrial park, groundwater, and soil throughout parts of the city since 1992.<ref name=ODEQ>[http://www.deq.state.ok.us/factsheets/land/bwz.pdf Fact Sheet: Blackwell Zinc Smelter Site In Blackwell Oklahoma] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923200449/http://www.deq.state.ok.us/factsheets/land/bwz.pdf |date=September 23, 2010 }}, ''Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality'', June 2007</ref> [[Phelps Dodge|Phelps Dodge Corporation]], a subsidiary of [[Freeport-McMoRan|Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc]], has owned the site since 1999.<ref name=AP>"[https://archive.today/20130127160821/http://www.joplinglobe.com/statenews/x212128724/Lawsuit-claims-Blackwell-polluted-from-old-zinc-smelter Lawsuit claims Blackwell polluted from old zinc smelter]" April 14, 2008</ref> On October 15, 2009, the City of Blackwell filed suit against Freeport-McMoRan calling the contamination a nuisance, and alleging that 58 million pounds of toxic waste remained in the city, causing illness within its 7,200 residents.<ref name=Welch /><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://blackwelluncovered.com/uploads/CJ200915_City_of_Blackwell_vs._Freeport.pdf |title=CJ200915 City of Blackwell vs. Freeport |access-date=December 23, 2012 |archive-date=August 12, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812130930/http://blackwelluncovered.com/uploads/CJ200915_City_of_Blackwell_vs._Freeport.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Following several changes of venue between Federal court and Kay County courts, the City of Blackwell and Freeport settled for 54-million dollars on February 4, 2010.<ref name=Rowen>Rowen, Sharon, "[http://www.poncacitynews.com/templates/27621177374725.bsp Public Hearing Held On Blackwell Lawsuit] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719164850/http://www.poncacitynews.com/templates/27621177374725.bsp |date=July 19, 2011 }}", ''The Ponca City News'', February 19, 2010</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://blackwelluncovered.com/uploads/54M_Settlement_for_the_City_of_Blackwell_2-4-10.pdf |title=Settlement Agreement |access-date=December 23, 2012 |archive-date=July 8, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708013910/http://www.blackwelluncovered.com/uploads/54M_Settlement_for_the_City_of_Blackwell_2-4-10.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>