Newsroom

Media Contact:
Chantelle Wallace
(800) 933-5998
chantelle@shipleyassociates.com

---

News Articles and Press Releases

Public Hearing Held on Blackwell Lawsuit
Ponca City News – February 19, 2010
“It was standing room only in the Kay Room Thursday night as over 200 hundred Blackwell residents turned out for a question and answer session with attorneys from the Nix Patterson and Roach law firm based in Texas.”

Freeport to Pay $54 Million Settlement
Blackwell Journal Tribune – February 4, 2010
“Just because the city settled with Freeport, [attorney Don] Shandy pointed out this has no impact on other lawsuits. “Nothing in this settlement affects any citizen’s right to pursue legal claims to property or injury,” he said alluding to two other lawsuits currently in the court system.”

New Suit Filed in Smelter Issue
Blackwell Journal Tribune – December 10, 2009
“Another lawsuit has been filed in Kay County District Court this week against mining giant Freeport-McMoRan. The suit, listing 18 plaintiffs is claiming the years of pollution generated by the Blackwell Zinc Smelter has resulted in personal injury and they are seeking an undetermined amount of money damage.”

City of Blackwell Switches Sides on Smelter Suit
North Central Reporter – October 24, 2009
“Much of this contaminated soil has not been - and will not be - remediated as part of defendants’ soil cleanup efforts,’ the lawsuit says.”

Blackwell Sues over Mine Site
The Oklahoman – October 17, 2009
“Officials alleged the mining company didn’t just fail to dispose of its pollutants, but it even provided a mix of sludge, dirt, zinc and cadmium to be used as fill dirt for projects throughout Blackwell, including construction of a high school track field.”

City Files Suit against Freeport
Blackwell Journal Tribune – October 16, 2009
“It is claimed city and BMA workers are being exposed to contaminated hazardous materials and operations and maintenance of public works projects cost more due to hazardous waste handling requirements.”

Resolution Paves Way for Lawsuit
Blackwell Journal Tribune – October 6, 2009
“The first step toward what could be a multi-million-dollar lawsuit by the City of Blackwell against Freeport-McMoRan was taken Monday night.”

Phelps Dodge will answer to local folks on smelter case
North Central Reporter - September 9, 2009
“[A new study] examines public strategies and tactics used by Freeport-McMoRan officials to defend the corporation against charges of environmental negligence.”

Oklahoma Plaintiffs Win Venue Appeal
Nix, Patterson & Roach, LLP - September 8, 2009
“On September 4, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver, Colorado, issued an order returning the class action to state court in Kay County, Oklahoma, where the plaintiffs originally filed it in April 2008. The decision by the Court of Appeals concludes a lengthy series of attempts made by the defendants to have the case heard by a jury outside the community of Blackwell.”

Oklahoma Plaintiffs Win Venue Battle in Class Action against Mining Giant Freeport-McMoRan
Nix, Patterson & Roach, LLP - April 28, 2009
“The law firm of Nix, Patterson & Roach, LLP and a group of other attorneys representing plaintiffs from the town of Blackwell, Oklahoma, today announced an early victory in a presumptive class action lawsuit filed against mining giant Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc., Phelps Dodge Corporation, BNSF Railway Co., and other defendants.”

EPA Toughens Standard on Lead Emissions; Change is First in Three Decades
The New York Times – October 16, 2008
“The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday set stringent new standards for airborne lead particles, following the recommendations of its science advisers and cutting the maximum allowable concentrations to a tenth of the previous standard.”

Expert: Even Tiny Lead Levels Endanger Kids
Muskegon Chronicle – October 4, 2008
“Children with any amount of lead in their blood may suffer irreversible health effects, a fact that underscores the need to keep kids from coming in contact with the toxic metal, according to an expert on the subject.”

Lawsuit Alleges Poor Cleanup of Blackwell Smelter Site Has Left Some with High Lead Levels
The Oklahoman – April 15, 2008
“On that morning, school officials told Jernigan, 35, that Kaylee, her then-5-year-old daughter, had tested for dangerous levels of lead in her blood—3.5 times the amount the federal government says can be harmful, according to testing records.”

Lawsuit Claims City of Blackwell Polluted by Old Zinc Smelter
News Channel 8 Oklahoma – April 15, 2008
“[The lawsuit] says 90 percent of the homes in Blackwell have arsenic levels higher than standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency and that three-quarters had lead dust and 30 percent of children have enough lead in their blood to cause brain damage.”

Smelter Contamination Charged in Lawsuit
Blackwell Journal Tribune – April 15, 2008
“The suit is also seeking judgment against the defendants and seeking compensatory and punitive damages, ‘to be determined at trial,’ as well as ‘proper and permanent abatement and/or remediation of all contaminated properties in Blackwell.’”

Residents of Oklahoma Town Launch Class-Action Lawsuit against Phelps Dodge
The Northern Miner – April 15, 2008
“Between 1974 and 1992, the [Blackwell Industrial Authority] developed the site as an industrial park, selling and leasing various portions of the property. According to the plaintiffs, commercial construction took place without controls, spreading contaminated soil, dust and other material further throughout the city.”

Lawsuit Claims Blackwell Polluted from Old Zinc Smelter
The Associated Press – April 14, 2008
“Filed on behalf of a group of Blackwell residents, the lawsuit alleges that cleanup efforts undertaken by the owners of the site over the last 15 years are ‘nothing more than a sham designed to deceive the citizens of Blackwell.’”

Freeport-McMoRan Sued over Oklahoma Smelter Waste
Bloomberg News – April 14, 2008
“‘The contamination of Blackwell represents a public health crisis,’” Nelson Roach, an attorney for the residents, said in a statement. ‘The children of this community are going to continue to be at risk until these companies are forced to remove this contamination properly.’”

New Sign Up Period Opens for Soil Testing
Blackwell Journal Tribune – January 21, 2008
“‘The preliminary results suggest that sampling should occur throughout all of Blackwell, including properties whose owners have not yet signed up for sampling,’ said Jim Telle, company spokesman.”

Attorneys Challenge Phelps Dodge
Ponca City News – August 17, 2007
“Clearly, Phelps Dodge knew that it had been caught trying to put one over on the citizens of Blackwell with this ill-designed scheme.”

Minor Fire, Malfunctioning Doors Get County Attention
Ponca City News - July 17, 2007
“I visited with a real estate agent that said in time [clean-up] will have to be done before property can be sold in Blackwell.”

Blackwell Residents Can Sign Up for Soil Sampling
Ponca City News - May 4, 2007
“The Oklahoma State Department of Health was also present at the open house displaying charts showing that 3.6 percent of the children tested in Blackwell showed elevated blood lead levels, while across the state 0.9 percent of the children tested showed higher levels of lead.”

Blackwell family distraught about contamination results
Blackwell Journal Tribune - May 2, 2007
“We want this stuff cleaned up because it’s killing our kids.”

Blackwell Residents Hear New Answers On Material Gathered by Different Firms
Ponca City News - April 15, 2007
“Considering the health hazard of contamination that Phelps Dodge is responsible for in Blackwell, don’t you think that they ought to at least employ a technique that is designed to insure compliance that is at least as good as what the U.S. Census Department does?”

Blackwell Residents Pleased With Thursday’s Open Forum
Ponca City News - April 13, 2007
“Even testing by Phelps Dodge shows the ground water is contaminated.”

Smelter contamination: a major concern
Blackwell Journal Tribune – April 13, 2007
“Although Phelps Dodge says that the number is too small to really matter, the fact remains that the percentage of children in Blackwell with lead poisoning is higher than any other place in the state of Oklahoma.”

Phelps Dodge open house draws some 150 Blackwell residents
Blackwell Journal Tribune - April 13, 2007
“I’m disappointed we didn’t learn anything.”

Dodging the smelter?
North Central Reporter – April 12, 2007
“[Phelps Dodge is] just playing games with people.”

Blackwell Residents Not Happy With Open House
Ponca City News - April 11, 2007
“They are playing games with people in our town.  I don’t want to see our town gone, and I don’t want people to die.”

Blackwell Lead, Arsenic Test Results Send Many Residents To Visit Attorneys
Ponca City News - March 28, 2007
“Results showed that approximately 80 percent of the homes, old and new, have lead contamination.”

Concerned citizens discuss contamination cleanup
Blackwell Journal Tribune - March 28, 2007
“[S]oil contamination covers the “entire city of Blackwell” and even beyond the city limits.”

Attorneys believe Blackwell contaminated with chemicals
Ponca City News - March 27, 2007
“It is highly likely that most of you...have a significant amount of lead and arsenic in your homes and in the dirt around your homes.”

Phelps Dodge backs out on clean-up agreement
Blackwell Journal Tribune - March 4, 2007
“[T]he Phelps Dodge Corporation backed out of a contamination settlement agreement with the City of Blackwell.”

Group explains details of city recall position
Blackwell Journal Tribune - February 14, 2007
“The petition also charges that the executive session meetings were held in secret and no information or action was disclosed to the public concerning these emergencies.”

Grassroots effort revives Blackwell’s future hopes
The Daily Oklahoman - February 11, 2007
“A school playground was among the projects built atop the lead-rich materials...”

Sabin asks questions about contamination removal
Blackwell Journal Tribune - February 11, 2007
“If the whole town isn’t cleaned up, how will this solve the contamination problem and provide a safe place for our families?”

Phelps Dodge should relocate town
Blackwell Journal Tribune - February 4, 2007
“The only reason that Phelps Dodge is now trying to pacify the people of Blackwell, is because they can’t get out of it.”

Bicentennial Deadline?  Attorney says water cleanup could take 100 years
Blackwell Journal Tribune - September 16, 2006
“According to Page, the chief toxicant Blackwell has in its groundwater is cadmium and the amount of cadmium in the affected area here is staggering, 21,000 parts per billion.”

Blackwell Citizens Face Several City Problems
Ponca City News - August 15, 2006
“Bill Massey, a licensed manufactured housing dealer, told the crowd that over the years he has never had a problem obtaining building permits like he has had in Blackwell.”