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NEARBY LAKE SEDIMENT QUALITY AND SEEDLING TREE SURVIVAL ON ERODED OILY WASTE/BRINE CONTAMINATED SOIL
Citation:
Kampbell*, D H., K Jewell*, R. E. Neill*, M. W. Smith, AND M. M. Abbott. NEARBY LAKE SEDIMENT QUALITY AND SEEDLING TREE SURVIVAL ON ERODED OILY WASTE/BRINE CONTAMINATED SOIL. Presented at 10th Annual Int'l. Petroleum Environmental Conf, Houston, TX, November 11 - 14, 2003.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
An ecosystem restoration study is being conducted at an old oil production area in Northeast Oklahoma. Surface soil samples from areas impacted by discarded crude oil and brine wastes have been chemically characterized. Surface erosion has occurred in areas impacted by waste discharges so only sparse native vegetation is present. Gullies have formed resulting in transport of impacted surface soil into an adjacent lake. Sediments have been collected and analyzed for total and bioavailable metals to determine potential effects on the lake ecosystem. The sediments contained toxic levels of barium, cadmium, chromium, and lead. Test plots were established for Black Locust seedlings, Russian Olive seedlings, and Bermuda Grass in several impacted areas. After three months growth, the survival rate was 20 and 90 percent for Russian Olive and Black Locust trees, respectively.