EPA Closes 2025 with Significant Progress Remediating Residential Yards in the Nation’s Heartland

EPA Closes 2025 with Significant Progress Remediating Residential Yards in the Nation's Heartland

January 12, 2026

LENEXA, KAN. (JAN. 12, 2025) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proud to announce significant progress remediating lead-contaminated properties throughout EPA Region 7, marking more environmental cleanup milestones in the nation's heartland. During 2025, EPA Region 7 cleaned up over 775 residential properties and removed 1,098,965 cubic yards of waste.

"The work EPA Region 7 staff completed this year cleaning up lead from historic mining operations was no small feat," said EPA Region 7 Administrator Jim Macy. "By hitting our 2025 targets, EPA is delivering on our promise to protect communities from exposure to lead and we look forward to continuing to work with our state and local partners in 2026 to ensure that our cleanup operations throughout the heartland are efficient, effective, and protective."

Removing lead across our nation is key to fulfilling EPA's core mission of protecting human health and the environment and is especially important for reducing exposure for children. Across EPA's Region 7 states, the agency has overseen the cleanup of over 29,000 residential properties and the removal and disposal of over 45 million cubic yards of waste since cleanups started at the following sites:

Old Lead Belt and the Viburnum Trend

• In 2025, EPA led, or oversaw potentially responsible parties, cleanup of 439 residential properties and the removal of 139,039 cubic yards of waste in Missouri's historic Old Lead Belt and the Viburnum Trend.

Tri-State Mining District

• In 2025, EPA led the cleanup of 97 residential properties and the removal of 927,393 cubic yards of waste in the Kansas and Missouri sections of the historic Tri-State Mining District. This number does not include cleanup efforts going on at the Tar Creek Superfund Site, since the site is being remediated by the Quapaw Nation and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.

Former Smelter Sites

• In 2025, EPA led the cleanup of 239 residential properties and the removal of 32,533 cubic yards of waste at former smelter sites across Region 7.
• The former smelter sites include Caney Residential Yards, Cherokee Zinc - Weir Smelter, and Former United Zinc and Associated Smelters in Kansas; and Omaha Lead in Nebraska.

In 2025, EPA Region 7 awarded $3.3 million in cooperative agreements to six county health departments throughout the Old Lead Belt, the Tri-State Mining District, and to the Douglas County Health Department in Nebraska. Cooperative agreements with county health departments help fund continued lead health education and outreach for EPA's local partners to raise awareness about elevated blood lead levels and the steps families can take to reduce potential exposure to lead.

EPA Region 7 will continue its work remediating residential yards impacted by lead mining and removing mine waste from local communities throughout the heartland. The agency is committed to fulfilling its core mission of protecting human health and the environment and looks forward to building on this throughout 2026.

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