MIAMI, Okla. (AP) — Workers in the northeast Oklahoma city of Miami are repairing a faulty drainage line that caused compost liquid to spill into a creek and kill thousands of fish.
State inspectors responded June 22 to J-M Farms, which is a mushroom farm where they found that the spill had turned Tar Creek dark for about two miles.
The spill was a setback for a creek recovering from decades of contamination from zinc and lead mining operations unrelated to J-M.
The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality says high levels of ammonia and other compounds, coupled with large amounts of organic matter, caused oxygen levels to drop, resulting in the fish kill.
J-M says in a statement that it takes pride in "being environmental stewards" and is committed to correcting the problem.