Scott Beard found the liquid covering the ground near his farm west of El Reno one recent Sunday morning. He knew it wasn't water.

Beard said a nearby Devon drilling operation had leaked the black solvent into a bar ditch that connects with a creek. The leak was so heavy it forced the solvent past two containment barriers, he said.

Beard said the creek runs into his family farm operation and he's concerned it could harm the cattle grazing on wheat there. He suspects as much as 1,000 gallons of the solvent leaked from a tank battery.

“If it rains, that solvent is going into the creek,” Beard said.

Beard said it was 48 hours after the leak was reported that anyone from Devon inspected the site. He said the spill had still not been cleaned up two days later.

Beard's farm is along Red Rock Road, near SH 66.

“I love the oil field economy and the jobs it creates, but this is our livelihood that's being impacted,” Beard said.