Residents tell McAlester council new development runoff, trash and silt destroyed private pond; city points to DEQ and code enforcement

At a McAlester City Council meeting, property owner Tanya McCall Hill and several neighbors told the council that runoff, construction silt and routine trash routed from a nearby commercial site have devastated a private pond and adjacent property. Speakers said erosion controls were violated during the project and that the private pond, which previously supported fish and trees, is now filled with sludge, trash and automotive contaminants.

"That project was permitted," Mike Thomas, who identified himself as a former plan reviewer, told the council. "But if you look through there, you'll find out that during the construction, environmental dams that were erected by the contractor, those were violated. And all that silt, during construction, run off into the pond." He displayed photographs and said trees and other plantings that once bordered the pond are gone.

Neighbors described fences repeatedly knocked down by truck traffic, oil and other contaminants entering the pond, and ongoing trash blowing into the basin. Justin Norris said the pond used to be a place where family members caught fish and kept horses and said the property is no longer usable for those purposes.

The council asked city staff about enforcement options. The city attorney and staff said the development was permitted and that stormwater discharge and environmental pollution allegations fall under the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission for petroleum storage tanks. City staff advised residents to file complaints with ODEQ's environmental complaints division for alleged pollution and to contact city code enforcement for litter and nuisance issues.

Council members acknowledged the harm to the private pond and the frustration of residents. The city attorney said, based on the city file and past legal review, the matter "is a civil matter that really does not involve the city of McAlester," but staff recommended the regulatory referrals so state agencies with stormwater and petroleum-regulatory authority can investigate and, if necessary, require remediation or enforcement.

Residents requested the council contact the developer and local businesses to seek a remedy and asked the city to use ordinances where possible for nuisance and litter. Councilors urged residents to document damage and submit complaints to ODEQ and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and said code enforcement could address trash and fencing violations where those issues fall within city authority. No council motion or formal enforcement action against the developer was recorded at the meeting.

The transcript shows repeated citizen appeals for city involvement and a request that city staff visit the site; staff responded by pointing to jurisdictional limits and identifying ODEQ, OCC and the city's code enforcement as the appropriate paths for different aspects of the complaint.