The Missouri Department of Conservation is looking for information about who dumped barrels of oil at the Young Conservation Area in north-central Jefferson County, about five miles south of the city of Eureka.
Department of Conservation media specialist Dan Zarlenga said anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest could possibly receive a reward.
Zarlenga said conservation department staff found five to six 55-gallon barrels of oil dumped in the southwest parking lot at the conservation area, which provides a space for people to hunt, fish, hike and more.
“It appears that it’s just simply waste oil,” he said. “No other caustic chemicals or anything is involved.”
Zarlenga said oil spilled onto the ground because some of the barrels did not have lids.
After the oil barrels were discovered, they were removed, a trench was dug around the spilled oil and absorbent materials were placed on top of the spill, Zarlenga said.
“The thing that we're trying to prevent is for any of that oil to go into the LaBarque Creek, which is not too far away from that parking lot,” he said. “That’s a really pristine creek and got a lot of great biodiversity. So, we definitely want to protect that watershed.”
Zarlenga said once the snow melts, a backhoe will be brought in to remove any soil with oil on it.
He said anyone who’s arrested for dumping the oil could face charges for littering, improper disposal of a hazardous material or vandalism.
Zarlenga said anyone with information about the oil dumped at the conservation area should contact conservation agent Kyle Dunda at 314-954-5697 or the department’s Operation Game Thief tipline at 1-800-392-1111. He said anyone calling the Operation Game Thief number has the option to remain anonymous.