TULSA, Okla. (AP) - More than a dozen Arkansas-based poultry companies have
violated state and federal laws limiting the disposal of animal waste in the 1
million-acre Illinois River watershed, Oklahoma's Attorney General Drew
Edmondson told a federal judge Tuesday.
Edmondson is requesting a preliminary injunction to stop poultry companies
from dropping animal waste in the watershed, and maintains that unless the court
grants the request by the spring, the fecal bacteria found in the waste could
pose a health threat to hundreds of people who visit the river valley each year.
In his opening statement, he said waste from the birds is measured in tons
and that the waste is not processed, treated or diluted but dumped on the land
"ostensibly as fertilizer but far in excess of agronomic needs, in the most
environmentally and ecologically sensitive watershed in Oklahoma."
The injunction request hearing, which is expected to last several days, is
part of Oklahoma's ongoing lawsuit against Arkansas-based poultry companies for
polluting the watershed with chicken litter.
"Our evidence will show that these persistent and pervasive violations of
state and federal law have infested the rivers and springs and wells of the
Illinois River Watershed with biological pathogens that have created an imminent
and substantial threat to human health," Edmondson said.
Patrick Ryan, an attorney for Tyson Foods Inc., said in opening remarks that
the injunction seeks to disrupt an industry that has operated successfully in
the watershed for decades. He also accused the state of creating the science to
suit its case.
"There is nothing more going on in this watershed than the rest of the
state," Ryan said.
More than 576,000 acres of the watershed are located in Oklahoma.
State and environmental officials contend that years of illegal spreading of
the poultry waste, which contains bacteria, antibiotics, growth hormones and
harmful metals, is killing Oklahoma's scenic lakes.
Edmondson sued the poultry companies in 2005, saying litter pollution
rendered Lake Tenkiller in northeastern Oklahoma 70 percent oxygen dead and
accused poultry companies of treating Oklahoma's rivers like open sewers.
He also said the amount of phosphorous dumped on the ground in the watershed
each year is equivalent to the waste of 10.7 million people.
Among the companies named in the 2005 complaint include Tyson Foods, Tyson
Poultry Inc., Tyson Chicken Inc., Cobb-Vantress Inc., Aviagen Inc., Cal-Maine
Foods Inc., Cargill Inc., Cargill Turkey Production L.L.C., George's Inc.,
George's Farms Inc., Peterson Farms Inc., Simmons Foods Inc., Cal-Maine Farms
Inc. and Willow Brook Foods Inc.
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