Oil from a refinery flows past a flooded farmhouse near Coffeyville. A pumping malfunction during the weekend allowed 42,000 gallons of crude oil to escape from the Coffeyville Resources refinery into the swollen Verdigris River in south-central Kansas, producing a floating slick that could be seen and smelled from the air.

The flooding in Coffeyville is bad enough, engulfing homes to the rooftops and turning neighborhoods into floating junkyards of children’s toys and family heirlooms.

But the floodwaters also carry some of the 42,000 gallons of crude oil that spilled from the Coffeyville Resources refinery on Sunday, coating everything with a slimy, smelly layer of goo.

“My question is how are they going to get all that oil out of the environment,” said Mary Burge, a heart surgery patient who was forced to breathe from her portable oxygen tank because the petroleum odor Monday was so strong it could be detected by helicopters passing overhead.

The oil spill, caused by a malfunction while shutting down in advance of the flooding, has concerned federal and state officials as they monitor the slick’s progress down the Verdigris River toward drinking water sources and recreation areas in Oklahoma.

But it also presents another hurdle to Coffeyville leaders as they map out long-term flood recovery efforts that now must deal with the toxic sludge.

Jim Miller, Montgomery County emergency manager, said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had teams on the scene and was monitoring the oil as it snaked through town, leaving greasy stains where it receded from lawns and buildings.

Sharon Watson, spokeswoman for the Kansas adjutant general, said the EPA and state officials would work with officials at the refinery to measure the amount of contamination and help the refinery in cleaning up.

In the meantime, however, Watson said, “We’re asking everyone to avoid the floodwaters.”

That wasn’t an option for Fire Department Capt. Mike Mansfield, who rescued eight dogs from water-logged homes Monday. He said all the dogs found outside were covered in oil.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius flew over Coffeyville on Monday and inspected the refinery, which was largely surrounded by water. She also spotted the dark slick streaming from the refinery and downstream.

“It’s moving so rapidly there’s no way you can capture it,” she said. “You can track it from the air.”

Monday night, President Bush declared a major disaster in Kansas and ordered federal aid for recovery efforts related to storms and flooding that began June 26.

Federal funds are available to state and eligible local governments and certain nonprofit organizations in 17 counties: Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Butler, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Coffey, Cowley, Elk, Franklin, Linn, Miami, Montgomery, Neosho, Osage, Wilson and Woodson.

Osawatomie’s troubles

Farther north in Osawatomie, the surging rivers surrounding the town stubbornly remained above flood stage Monday, forcing hundreds to spend another anxious day away from their submerged homes.

Antonio Hurst, 23, was trying to figure out how to help his grandmother, whose home near Pottawatomie Creek was flooded. Hurst was among those who ignored a mandatory evacuation order affecting 40 percent of the town of 4,600 when he waded through chin-level water Sunday to retrieve two televisions and two pillowcases filled with possessions from his grandmother’s house.

“I saw a couch and icebox floating down the street,” Hurst said Monday, describing the scene the day before. “It was crazy. I don’t know what to think about the whole situation. It’s just Mother Nature. It guess you can’t really fight it.”

He said his grandmother planned to move in with a relative Monday after staying at a shelter Sunday night.

Forecasters with the National Weather Service said that while most river levels are beginning to drop, it could still be days before they return to normal.

City Manager Bret Glendening said officials plan to use 15 to 20 pumps to remove water from flooded areas. He added that residents won’t be allowed back in their homes, especially those where the electricity or natural gas has been shut off, until inspectors have checked to make sure their systems are working correctly.

“We do have health concerns,” Glendening said. “You’ve got stagnant water. The water’s been into the wood. You have mold issues. There’s a whole host of concerns flooding causes.”

He said officials were still working on getting an estimate of how many homes have been destroyed or damaged.

Scope unknown

Sebelius said it could be some time before emergency management workers determined the extent of the damage.

Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kansas, whose district includes some flooded areas, said he had heard that at least a thousand homes could be lost, a figure that Sebelius said was probably low.

“This is going to be a big recovery effort over months and months,” she said. “People will lose everything.”

In Fredonia, Sebelius comforted Natalie Odell Puckett, who said she and her husband’s new home southwest of town was destroyed when the Fall River left its banks during the weekend.

“It’s all gone,” she said crying. “Everything we had is gone.”

Sebelius gave her a hug and said, “Hang in there and know that you’re going to get help.”

State officials said they planned to move a command center that could provide additional assistance to residents to Coffeyville from Haviland, where it has been based since a May 4 tornado that destroyed most of Greensburg.

Watson said the state was trucking in fresh water to at least six communities, including Fredonia and Neodesha, where floodwaters have overrun water treatment plants or cut electricity.

“All our utilities are under water,” said Fredonia Mayor Max Payne.

National Guard strain

Sebelius said her main concern now as the state begin plans for flood recovery is whether the Kansas National Guard has enough light trucks that can travel through areas of high water.

“Right now, I think we’re OK,” she said.

Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, the state adjutant general, said the guard needs about 70 trucks but has only about a dozen, the remainder being used in Iraq.

Sebelius caused an uproar following the Greensburg tornado when she suggested ongoing Kansas National Guard deployments to Iraq were hampering the state’s response to the disaster.

Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., said Congress is aware of the stress overseas operations have placed on state guard units and that there’s money in the proposed budget for additional equipment.

“I think our federal government had the obligation to replace the equipment,” Moore said.