This practice continued until 1977, when a tailings impoundment was constructed to prevent additional tailings from entering the creek. The remaining tailings along the Whitewood Creek contain arsenic and other metals that are a potential threat to human health and the environment. The Whitewood Creek site consists of an 18 mile stretch of Whitewood Creek, from the Crook City bridge to the confluence with the Belle Fourche River. Since the 1870s, millions of tons of toxic tailings were deposited along the creek in Lawrence, Meade and Butte counties.
Local residents use the creek for irrigation, watering livestock and recreation.
About 280 people live within a mile of the site. Arsenic is the contaminant of greatest concern at the site. Exposure to high levels of arsenic may increase the risk of skin cancer, neurological effects and vascular disease. The institutional controls were adopted by the three affected counties in 1993 and 1994. They involved zoning regulations to prohibit development in the tailings deposit areas.