The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) continues to investigate an incident in which over 20 barrels were found in Choctaw Creek near Clinton Wednesday night. Late Friday afternoon, an attorney for a Van Buren County property owner sent a letter to ADEQ claiming the barrels belonged to his client. The property owner has informed those investigating the incident that he took ownership of the barrels a few years ago from a drilling contractor. The individual further stated that the barrels were empty when he received them. He said he used them for activities for horses and did not know the barrels had washed off of his property until Friday.
However, ADEQ is continuing to run samples of the water in the creek and the fluid found in some of the barrels. Preliminary lab results show normal parameters one would expect to find for a stream in this ecoregion, and no indication of impacts to the water from this incident. Final results, which could reveal more information, are expected at the end of the week.
