Contamination at Oklahoma farm highlights oil industry's neglect
Oklahoma farm suffers extensive environmental damage as local family battles oil companies over contaminated land and water sources.
Mark Olalde, reports for ProPublica, and Nick Bowlin for Capital & Main.
In short:
- Salt water leakage from an oil well on the Ledgerwood's farm killed vegetation and contaminated their drinking water.
- The family struggled to get accountability from oil companies, which often evade cleanup costs through bankruptcy.
- The estimated cleanup cost for Oklahoma's unplugged wells is about $7 billion, with insufficient funds set aside by the oil industry.
Key quote:
"We don’t get these years back. There’s no way to pay for that. We’ll never have back what we had."
— Stan Ledgerwood, Oklahoma farmer
Why this matters:
The contamination of land and water can lead to a cascade of adverse effects, not just on the immediate agricultural output but also on local wildlife and ecosystems. The potential seepage of pollutants into groundwater, for example, poses a significant risk to human health, affecting communities' access to clean drinking water.
Related: Dead livestock and poisoned water — Texas farmers sue over PFAS contamination
