It took a town to find help for Tar Creek

1920s: The mining peaks.

1950s: The mines decline, and Picher closes its Main Street because of a cave-in.

1960s: Homes sink into abandoned mine workings.

1970: Mining stops.

1978: The U.S. Geological Survey warns of future problems associated with nearly 10.75 billion gallons of acid water that in the underground mines.

1983: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency declares Tar Creek a high-priority waste site in the Superfund program.

1994: A local nurse-doctor team first suspected a connection between lead mine waste and learning deficiencies at Picher-Cardin Schools.

1995: People living near Tar Creek begin holding annual fake fishing competitions to tell the government they believe fish and waters in the area are unhealthy.

1996: Government tests show 31.2 percent of kids in the area have blood lead levels higher than 10 micrograms per deciliter, the government limit.

1998: A local environmental advocacy group begins holding public conferences about Tar Creek.

2003: U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe spars with U.S. Rep. Brad Carson over a buyout at Tar Creek. Carson favors a buyout. In December, Inhofe tells the Tulsa World: "There will never be a buyout. I promise you that.”

2004: Inhofe, R-Tulsa, funds an "omnibus bill” that includes $45 million for cleanup on the periphery of the Tar Creek site.

2004: Gov. Brad Henry, a Democrat, calls for the government to pay willing families with kids ages 6 and younger to relocate from the Superfund site.

2004: Inhofe meets with residents. Some locals say Inhofe ignored their concerns before that April 2004 meeting.

2005: Inhofe uses sway as chair of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to fund a $2 million study of cave-in risks.

2006: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers releases a report saying 286 properties at the Tar Creek site are at risk for cave-ins. The $2 million report was commissioned by Inhofe.

2006: The corps report leads Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, to call for a government-sponsored buyout.

2007: The state Department of Environmental Quality releases a warning that fish between Tar Creek and Grand Lake may be contaminated with toxic heavy metals.

2008: On May 10, an EF-4 tornado levels half of Picher, killing six. The buyout remains half finished. EPA officials estimate the cleanup process will take 30 more years.

Sources: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, The Oklahoman, The Associated Press, Tulsa World, the office of U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, Rebecca Jim, Ed Keheley.