Twenty-one years after a Union Pacific train derailment spilled 3,300 gallons of carbon tetrachloride in Kingfisher County, several landowners have sued the railroad company claiming the site still contains an underground plume of the chemical.
The lawsuit, filed in Kingfisher County was transferred to Oklahoma City federal court, according to a report in the Journal Record. Gary and Geraldine Mueggenbord accuse Union Pacific of creating a public and private nuisance, trespass, negligence and unjust enrichment.
The company is not commenting about the lawsuit but claims it is still working with the state in remediating the spill that happened in April 1995. One report indicated the city of Kingfisher recently decided not to use one proposed site for a new water plant because tests showed the chemical is still deep in the soil. The tests, carried out by Meshek and Associates also stated the underground plume had spread from the spill site across U.S. Highway 81 and along the west bank of the Cimarron River.
