Barnsdall City Council receives $75,000 from Osage Nation

Money will support measures to repair the town’s failing water system

Osage Nation Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear, Osage Congresswoman Shannon Edwards, Osage Congress Speaker Maria Whitehorn, Second Speaker Otto Hamilton

Barnsdall, Okla. (May 3, 2016)—A check for $75,000 from the Osage Nation was presented to the Barnsdall City Council and Mayor Brock Moore, Osage Citizen, on Tuesday, May 3. The funds were approved by a unanimous vote from the Osage Nation Congress April 6. Osage Nation Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear presented the check to Mayor Moore during a regular City Council meeting at Barnsdall City Hall.

Fourth Osage Congress Speaker Maria Whitehorn, Second Speaker Otto Hamilton, and Congresswoman Shannon Edwards also attended the meeting to present the funding to the Barnsdall City Council.

Barnsdall City Council at the May 3 regular meeting at Barnsdall City Hall

Chief Standing Bear read from the enacted legislation that states, “The Osage Nation Congress finds that the interest and safety of the residents served by the City of Barnsdall water treatment facility merits a grant of $75,000 for the purchase and installation of water plant equipment.”

The legislation is a response to the town’s on-going water problems. On Feb. 5 the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued a mandatory boil order for consumers in Barnsdall and all districts served by the water treatment facility there.

According to the DEQ, the order was issued due to high turbidity issues and lasted more than a week. Consumers were advised to bring water to a full, rolling boil for at least a minute before using for food preparation, brushing teeth, and dishwashing. The city has since taken out a loan for $500,000 to install a new filtration system.

For more information about the Osage Nation Congress and ONCA 16-36 go to www.osagenation-nsn.gov or call 918-287-5559.