Sprol

Written By Sheila Tipton 9/14/03. Edited 6/19/05 mls.

I live in the Leonard, Oklahoma area in a horseshoe-shaped land formation. The Arkansas River surrounds the land formation to the north, east, and west. The land is a sandy loam.

From our investigations, the sod farmers in the region, approximately eight farming operations in a five mile square area, have been operating for about 15 to 20 years.

Many of our citizens in the community, approximately 500 citizens, have reported unusual illnesses.These symptoms are being reported by the majority and not the minority of our citizens.

The Sod Farmers were using biosolid waste on their sod for fertilizing for over a decade, until the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) was notified of possible non-compliance in application of this waste.

Once an investigation was performed, the Sod Farmers were no longer allowed to purchase and use this waste in our area.

My question, however, is what effects might have occurred prior to the Sod Farmers supposedly stopping their use of biosolid waste.

Our water wells have been notably contaminated with high levels of nitrates in and around the main area of this dumping. The levels are from 10-20 Parts Per Million (or PPM, as in 10PPM-20PPM). We have not tested these wells for any other contaminants.

Also, our homestead wells are going dry, seven in one half mile area in the last two years.

For over 50 years old times indicated setting sand points and reaching good quality water at depths of 10 to 15 feet. Since the heavy irrigation of the Sod Farmers over the last 15 years, the citizens have had to go to depths of 30+ feet and some of us still have been unable to reach water.

And then, the water is not the quality needed to support a household.

We have contacted the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) and they discovered that the Sod Farmers had been using the groundwater, without the proper permits, for a decade. There was a trial.

The OWRB allowed the Sod Farmers to apply for permits, and they were approved, even though the community offered much evidence of how their long standing operations were affecting and changing our environment.

We have not seen any frogs in our community in over two years.

The Sod Farmer uses pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers on a daily basis, unlike farming operators, who may only use the products one time per year on a particular harvest.

We have asked the EPA and United States Department of Agriculture to require the Sod Farming operations to release the list of ingredients of the chemicals they are using every day, however to date the agencies put in place to protect the public health have not moved on our behalf. We still do not have this information.

In one family we have two reported cases of brain cancer in a son and a mother. We have many of our community reporting dizziness, blurred vision, respiratory distress, chronic fatigue, young females menstrual cycle changing, skin irritations, swollen eyes, and stomach difficulty.

I have contacted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and asked what studies they may have on the impact of this industry in a community. They said that as a result of the Sod Farming industry being "relatively new" there is no information available.

The 107th Congressional Report to President Bush reported December 2002 indicated that nitrates in drinking water on a short-term basis can be dangerous to the health of the consumer and possibly deadly, if over the recommended 10PPM. Half of that, 5PPM, is considered the highest safe level on a short term basis for children and elderly or those with a compromised immune system.

Our citizens have been subjected to nitrate levels well over 10PPM for who knows how long, definitely longer than short term exposure. Several of the citizens have contacted the EPA, Agriculture Department, and DEQ and requested assistance, and to date we have not been able to get answers in response to our concerns.

There are times that the Sod Farmers spray their pesticides where we can not even go outside due to the nature of their heaviness in the air. We are concerned that the run-off from their operations is not only flowing into our groundwater, but also the Arkansas River, contaminating it.

Recently there was a 5,000 "Fish Kill" in the Gore Region and we suspect that the fish actually died farther upstream.

We wonder if they may have died in our area, as we are only about 20 miles upstream.

At the time, there was a lot of spraying going on, but more significantly, it had also rained a great deal. We suspect that a larger than average chemical run off could have made its way into the Arkansas River and then into the Illinois River and caused the fish kill.

We just need answers. We don’t know who to turn to for help because it appears no one will listen, and no one cares about us.

We have attempted to involve our political agents, such as Senators, Representatives, and Congressman, to no avail.

We hope that our concerns are unfounded, we hope that this operation and industry are not another Love Canal or Aniston, Alabama, or Pitcher, Oklahoma clean-up site.

Oklahoma cannot afford to have two clean-up sites.