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Picher Stimulus?

File Photo: Jim Inhofe

By Associated Press

Tulsa, OK – Inhofe places hold on stimulus funds for Picher

TULSA, Okla. (AP) U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma says he has placed a hold on federal stimulus funds directed toward a housing authority in Picher, a fading mining town located in a Superfund area.

State and federal buyouts of Picher residents in recent years have dwindled its population. The town is part of a 40-square-mile area that the federal Environmental Protection Agency put on its Superfund list in 1983, years after lead and zinc mining companies pulled out.

About $135,000 in stimulus funds were awarded to the Picher Housing Authority. Inhofe says it makes no sense to send money to a place that is closing.

Inhofe spokesman Ryan Jackson says the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has verbally agreed to honor the Republican senator's hold on the money.

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Information from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.