WASHINGTON, DC – At a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, U.S. Senator Pat Roberts pressed Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson to accept his invitation to visit Treece, Kansas, to see firsthand the dangerous conditions in the town and the unwise use of taxpayer stimulus dollars to remediate top soil in an area prone to subsidence.

Senator Roberts said, "Will you accept my invitation to visit Treece?"

Administrator Jackson indicated she would "make every effort" to visit.

Roberts thanked the Administrator and looks forward to showing her the area.

In June, Senator Roberts sent a letter inviting Administrator Jackson to Treece, and continued his call for a buyout of residents before taxpayer dollars are wasted remediating topsoil in an area full of sinkholes that threaten human life.

Roberts said in the original letter, "To reiterate, I support your Agency’s mission ‘to protect human health and the environment.’ In order to fully reach this mission in Treece, it is necessary to first relocate the 100 inhabitants and then complete any necessary environmental restoration of the landscape. Using stimulus money to re-mediate soil that will collapse on itself, with young children living nearby, is unacceptable. I urge you to utilize $3 million in stimulus funds to voluntarily relocate those living in Treece."

The exchange can be viewed on Senator Roberts’ website at https://www.roberts.senate.gov

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