‘It'll kill everything!’ Oil leaking into creek near Perry
A rancher feels left in the dark after oil tanks placed by an oil company leasing his property leaked oil into a creek on the property, and no one notified him.
PERRY, Okla.—A rancher feels left in the dark after oil tanks placed by an oil company leasing his property leaked oil into a creek on the property, and no one notified him.
Glenn Rard manages a ranch just south of the town of Perry. A portion of Little Cow Creek runs through the ranch.
Rard said Black Cat Oil Company leases a part of the ranch, and installed oil tanks directly next to the creek.
Rard told News 4 he first noticed the problem two days ago when he was walking near the oil tanks.
“We walked over here and I noticed all the oil on the ground,” Rard said. “It is just solid oil.”
McIntyre Law Chopper 4 flew over the property on Friday. From above, it’s easy to see raw crude oil splattered all over the tanks, nearby field and draining into Little Cow Creek down an embankment.
“I don't know anything about the oil business, but it sure blowed it and it looks like it blowed it out that pipe that shot it both ways,” Rard said. “They'll kill everything in that creek. It'll kill everything. This creek flows into Perry.”
Even though it’s already been a couple days, he says nobody from the oil company or any agency even reached out to let him know what happened on his property.
“They were trying to cover it up with sand,” Rard said.
But the whole situation is far from a new experience for him.
“At least four times a year we go through this,” he said.
Even though Rard says Black Cat didn’t tell him what happened, they evidently did tell the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
A spokesperson for the OCC confirmed to News 4 they’re aware of the spill and that Black Cat was in the process of getting it cleaned up.
Chopper 4 caught a glimpse of some people surveying the mess on Friday.
News 4 caught up with them Friday afternoon.
Two people wearing vests were taking pictures of the mess when News 4 showed up. They told News 4 they were contractors with the EPA, and couldn’t answer any questions.
Two other men were with them. The EPA contractors told News 4 one of the men was the person who reported the spill, and the other man was with the cleanup company he hired.
Both men told News 4 “no comment.”
Meanwhile, Rard is—
“Oh, pissed,” Rard said.
Wondering, how soon until the next time this happens?
“It needs to be cleaned up and the main thing is fixed so it doesn't happen again,” Rard said.
“There's no reason for this happening four times a year.”