Metro Couple Concerned Over Materials Used To Strengthen Levees

The flooding threat for people living in southwest Oklahoma City living near the South Canadian River is over. But there's new concern about the materials used to strengthen the levee, opening up an investigation with the Army Corps of Engineers.

In that emergency situation on Friday, the company did admit using material like asphalt and reinforcing steel to help rebuild and strengthen this levee and help prevent the flooding for the residents east of it. But now the Bogarts are asking for that potentially hazardous material to be removed.

On Friday Jaycee and Toby Bogart watched, from their property, as asphalt boulders were dropped by General Materials Incorporated landing into the South Canadian River. While the levee technically belongs the construction material company, the land below belongs to the Bogarts.

“By all means save those people to the east, but then when the water goes down and the threat has been lowered fix it,” said Jaycee Bogart.

The Army Corps of Engineers tells News 9 they are now looking into the matter as a possible violation of the Clean Water Act; an issue they would not know about if it wasn't for the Bogarts.

“A lot of that right there is on our land. If it means I have to get down in there myself on my land and remove your junk from my land I will do it,” she said.

The company removed some of the material yesterday, but the Bogart believes there's more to clean up.

The company's president issued a statement, saying in part "we are in the process of inspecting the fill area to remove any construction materials ... [and] we will continue to monitor the integrity of the berm in the coming weeks."

The Bogarts call the flooding threat inevitable, and wonder why the company wasn't better prepared.

“Why didn't they have a better plan? I guess is my question,” said Bogart.

The Army Corps of Engineers before doing any type of shoreline stabilization always check with them first. At this time, the Army Corps of Engineers is not able to confirm if the levee is damaging the Bogart's land.