Cherokee County

Overview

Cherokee County is a former lead, zinc, and cadmium mining area covering about 115 square miles in southeast Kansas. Mining ran for over 100 years before ending in 1970, leaving millions of cubic yards of contaminated tailings across more than 4,000 acres. The EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in September 1983, and remedial action started in July 1989. The site is also known as the Baxter Springs Cherokee County site and the Eagle-Picher Smelter site.

Lead is the most widely distributed contaminant, found in soil, groundwater, surface water, sediment, and solid waste across nearly all parts of the site. Cadmium and zinc are also present throughout those same media. Groundwater contamination includes arsenic, barium, chromium, copper, manganese, mercury, nickel, selenium, silver, and zinc in addition to lead and cadmium. People can be exposed by touching or ingesting contaminated soil, groundwater, or mine wastes, or by inhaling contaminated dust.

The site is divided into nine operable units, each targeting a different geographic area or contamination problem. So far, cleanup has addressed nearly ten million cubic yards of mining waste on over 2,800 acres, remediated more than 800 residential yards, and supplied over 500 homes with clean drinking water. The Galena Alternate Water Supply unit completed remedial action in 1994. Six other units are under construction or actively ongoing, including residential soil cleanup in Galena and contamination work in the Baxter Springs, Treece, and Badger/Lawton/Waco/Crestline areas. Work on contaminated abandoned rail lines began in 2024. Two units covering the Spring River Basin and Tar Creek Watershed are still in the feasibility study phase. A 25-square-mile portion of the site has been restored as wildlife habitat with native grasses, streams, and vegetation. As of December 2024, 238 businesses operating on or near the site employed 3,492 people and generated an estimated $764.3 million in annual sales revenue.

The Seventh Five-Year Review was completed on September 10, 2025. Human exposure is not under control, and groundwater migration is not stabilized. Construction of the cleanup remedy is not complete, and additional cleanup actions remain necessary. The next Five-Year Review is due in September 2030.

Residents at about 350 properties in Baxter Springs and Galena are currently receiving free residential soil cleanup that began in fall 2024. Property owners who have not yet been sampled can request free EPA sampling by visiting City Hall in either city, emailing R7-TSMD@epa.gov, calling 1-800-223-0425, or contacting EPA contractor TetraTech at (620) 284-1357.

The EPA also offers Technical Assistance Services for Communities, which provides free independent professional review of technical information and community meeting support. For general community questions, residents can contact EPA Community Involvement Coordinator Tanya Young at (816) 799-3251 or young.tanya@epa.gov.