The federal government recently tore up Debbie and Tony Morrison’s front yard in the small southeast Kansas town of Caney.
And the two are happy about it.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency came in, scraped away contaminated dirt, replaced it with clean soil and spread sod on top.
“It actually looks very good,” Morrison said. “After they put the new grass in, they came down and they faithfully watered and cared for it continually until they felt like it had taken hold.”
The Morrisons and hundreds of other Caney residents were living on contaminated lots — the legacy of two lead and zinc smelters that closed their doors there nearly a hundred years ago.
The EPA and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment are putting the final touches on a cleanup paid in part through legal settlements with mining companies that left the mess behind.
(Read more: KCUR)