Cleanup Continues After Oil Spill In NW OKC

Crews continue to remove oil from a Northwest Oklahoma City pond following a pipeline leak.

The EPA says crews will most likely continue emergency response throughout today - as they finish draining the oil from the pond.

Since Sunday morning, neighbors in Savannah Estates have been eagerly watching the cleanup.

“There's a bunch of people that are driving down there and trying to look and see what happened, and a lot of people going down there,” neighbor Trinity Harmon said.

Just after 3:30 Saturday, a broken pipeline began leaking under the pond, located near Memorial and County Line Road.

Read Related Story: Neighbors Concerned After Oil Spills Into Pond

The leak released crude oil into the body of water.

Since then, nearly 700 barrels of oil have been removed, with an estimated 300 barrels left to go. Each barrel holds 42 gallons, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Neighbors say they're concerned about the animals.

“There are usually turtles, birds, ducks, fish, frogs, cows, owls,” Harmon said.

The EPA says there are hundreds of dead fish being removed from the private pond.

Oklahoma City is also monitoring the oil company’s cleanup operations.

“They put some booms out and they'll be sucking the oil out from the top of the water probably for the next day or two,” Oklahoma City Environmental Protection Manager Ryan Melton said.

The oil company, Centurion Pipeline, will continue to clean around the pond after the oil is removed.

“They usually move really quickly on this sort of thing because it can have a larger impact. They want to catch it as quick as possible,” Melton said.

Centurion sent News 9 an updated statement Monday:

“Centurion Pipeline has made significant progress in removing the oil from a pond in Yukon, Oklahoma, and is continuing cleanup operations today. We appreciate the patience of the nearby residents as we work safely and efficiently as possible.

Centurion Pipeline is coordinating our response with the appropriate government authorities. We will conduct an internal investigation to determine the cause of the incident and appropriate measures will be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future.”