OU Student Addresses Tar Creek Cleanup on Army Corps of Engineers' Program
McCann recalls the moment she charted a path to the Sooner State. She was working as a consultant for international engineering firm CH2M (now Jacobs Engineering Group) after having earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from Penn State. After a few years, though, she learned that a desk job wasn’t for her. She missed being outside.
Enter engineering professor Robert Nairn, director of OU’s Center for Restoration of Ecosystems and Watersheds (CREW). In a speech at a Geological Society of America meeting, Nairn talked about his research at Tar Creek, considered one of the most toxic areas in the United States. For the past 25 years, Nairn has worked to improve water quality at the federal Superfund site, finding success in using an unconventional approach – a passive treatment system composted of human-made ecosystems.
“When I first heard Dr. Nairn, I was instantly reminded of my undergrad studies that focused on mine drainage in the Coal Region of Appalachia,” said McCann whose great-grandfather was a mining engineer in the region. “Dr. Nairn’s work had an applied, problem-solving-oriented approach that interested me so, I emailed him immediately after the meeting. I knew it would be a great fit for me to be involved with these innovative strategies at OU.”
That great fit has resulted in McCann being one of three Ph.D. students featured on the Engineering With Nature Podcast. Titled “Creating the Future with EWN,” McCann talks about finding her path forward.
McCann’s interview brings OU one step closer to cementing a partnership with EWN. “Dr. Nairn has worked many years on building a relationship with the Army Corps. OU will bring a lot to the table. We can be the eyes and ears of the Great Plains region,” she said noting that most universities affiliated with EWN are on the East Coast.
New Hope
In August, McCann completed a master’s degree in environmental science at OU. She drove weekly to Tar Creek – about four hours from the OU Norman campus – where she investigated metal-contaminated mine drainage, one of mining’s most serious threats to water resources.
The story behind Tar Creek is not new to McCann. Her job at then CH2M in Atlanta already had introduced her to the manmade disaster. CH2M designed and built the passive treatment system at Mayer Ranch, located between the towns of Miami and Commerce, Oklahoma.
This semester, the determined McCann is learning even more about Tar Creek. In August, she started a PhD program, along with teaching an environmental biology and ecology class at OU. Her new path involves engaging frequently with other CREW members and Nairn, who ironically also had family who worked underground in the coal mines of Appalachia.
McCann meets monthly with representatives of the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and the Grand River Dam Authority. She also hopes to meet with members of the Quapaw Nation who are laser-focused on reversing decades of mining damage to their land. About 80% of the land in Tar Creek belongs to the Quapaw. In September, federal courts settled a 17-year legal battle to pay for the damage done by lead and zinc mines.
So, 40 years later, there is new hope for Tar Creek. The land now has two operating passive treatment systems made possible by OU researchers — the Mayer Ranch system and a newer one they call the Southeast Commerce system, established in 2017. Recent reports show that streams are starting to look normal again. Flowers are blooming, beavers are building dams and fish species are on the rise – from zero to 16.
There’s plenty more cleanup to be done, though. To build a complete system to clean up water throughout the Superfund site would take $20 million or more. For McCann, she just wants to be a part of the effort and help bridge the divide between waste and resources. “I’m not an expert on Tar Creek by any means, but I’ve definitely gotten up close and personal with Tar Creek over the past few years.
“It’s good to be outdoors again.”
