Hazardous Waste Discovered At Scissortail Park Construction Site, OKC MAPS Manager Says

Construction crews have discovered a small section of hazardous waste beneath the soil of Scissortail Park's lower park near SW 15th and Harvey Avenue.

Tuesday, September 7th 2021, 5:33 pm

By: Storme Jones

OKLAHOMA CITY -

Oklahoma City construction crews have discovered hazardous waste at the lower Scissortail Park site.

The city said the area near SW 15th and Harvey has high lead readings caused by buried battery parts.

MAPS Program Manager David Todd said it'll cost more than $400,000 to get it all cleaned up.

“I was just disappointed when we found it,” Todd said. “It wasn't unexpected that we would find something, but definitely disappointed because I knew it was going to be a drain on the budget.”

The hazardous waste is being hauled more than two hours away to a Waynoka disposal site.

“The money comes out of the MAPS budget and we’re at about $400,000 right now. It’s very expensive to take this kind of soil to those hazardous-waste landfills because it will stay there forever,” Todd said.

He said the waste removal will not slow the park’s progress. The southside of Scissortail Park is expected to be completed in August of 2022.