HORTON, Kan. (AP) The Kickapoo Tribe has received a $25,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to plug abandoned wells on its land in northeast Kansas.
The agency announced this week that the tribe was among 50 recipients of grants totaling $1.2 million.
The goal of the Kickapoo project is to reduce the amount of surface runoff that flows into the open wells, leading to contamination of groundwater.
Educational and outreach materials also will be used to increase awareness of groundwater contamination. The EPA says the Kickapoo Tribe has recorded elevated levels of E.coli bacteria and nitrates in the groundwater.
