Date of Award

4-1980

Degree Type

Major Paper

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Marine Affairs

Abstract

On March 23, 1975 oil leaked out of an oil retention pit at a drilling site owned by L.O. Ward. Ward was an Oklahoma wildcatter and the owner and operator of L.O. Ward Oil and Gas Operations. The spilled oil ran down a gully and into Boggie Creek. Boggie Creek is a tributary of the navigable Arkansas River. The discharge of oil from Ward's property therefore amounted to the discharge of a harmful quantity of oil within the meaning of Section 1321 (b)(3) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and also a harmful quantity within the meaning of regulations promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to its Federal Water Pollution Control Act authority.

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