Harrah officials discuss $123,209.43 cleanup after illegal oil dumping near city well

Council members reviewed an invoice totaling $123,209.43 from Oklahoma Hazmat for emergency cleanup of oil illegally dumped in Harrah’s Industrial Park near a city well. The city had the cleanup work initiated before the council met because staff considered the contamination an urgent public-health risk.

City Attorney Robert Thompson advised the City Manager to obtain additional quotes for the same scope of work to ensure the charge from Oklahoma Hazmat was reasonable. City staff said they would return to the council with verification of cost reasonableness and a proposed breakout of which fiscal-year funds would pay for the work.

The July 3 meeting record does not show a final council vote approving the payment; the discussion described staff action taken before council review and the follow-up step to verify pricing. The council did not adopt final payment authorization language at the meeting; City Manager Matt Mears is authorized in the agenda language to determine the breakout between fiscal-year funds if the council approves a payment at a later meeting.

Officials said the oil had been illegally dumped in the Industrial Park area near a well, prompting the expedited cleanup, but the transcript does not specify the source of the dumping or any responsible party. The council instructed staff to verify the cost and bring back documentation for review before finalizing payment.