February 03, 2012
America's Worst Superfund Site, Still Not a Pretty Picture
It's not such a pretty picture. . . nor is the story behind it, but writer-director Matt Myers, who grew up just 25 miles away, could find no peace until he told it.
Tar Creek is a hard-hitting environmental documentary of a prideful mining community and the Quapaw Indians who call this corner of Oklahoma their home — homes that sit right on top of America's largest Superfund site.
Once the most productive lead and zinc mining site on the planet, now only an environmental wasteland remains.
Set to the guitar twangs of blues legend, Watermelon Slim, Tar Creek follows a complex trail of shady deals, politicians, government agencies, and the folks caught on the front line. Designated a Superfund site in 1983, the EPA spent 30 years and more than $200 million to clean up the area, but ultimately they opted to buy out and relocate the entire community. Even now, the work is far from over.
Watch the trailer and read a short interview with the director below the fold.
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