Poultry Community Council Media Room

By World’s Editorial Writers

At long last, the fate of the Illinois River watershed is about to be decided.

Attorney General Drew Edmondson made the opening statement in the long-awaited case against 11 poultry companies that he claims are partially responsible for degrading streams in the eastern Oklahoma watershed.

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By: KUAF - NPR

FAYETTEVILLE, AR (KUAF - NPR) - After four years of negotiations, hearings and motions, the much-anticipated trial pitching the state of Oklahoma against eleven Arkansas poultry companies started Thursday in Tulsa Federal Court.
At stake is whether farmers can continue to spread poultry waste on pastures–or be forced to haul it out of the region.
Oklahoma claims the poultry litter has damaged the Illinois River Watershed. The trial may take up to six weeks.  Click here to listen to the entire story.

By Dan Bewley, The News On 6

TULSA, OK — Oklahoma’s lawsuit trial against the poultry industry began Thursday morning. Lawyers, led by the Oklahoma Attorney General, gave their opening statements.

The state claims poultry pollution is contaminating the Illinois River watershed and filed the suit four years ago.
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by: CURTIS KILLMAN World Staff Writer

Attorney General Drew Edmondson painted a bleak picture of the Illinois River watershed Thursday as the state of Oklahoma opened its case in a pollution lawsuit against the poultry industry.

What Edmondson says: The Illinois River, once a pristine waterway, has become “unsightly” due to runoff containing poultry litter that was applied to fields to grow hay. The companies at the center of the lawsuit have been aware for years of the problems that can occur from the overuse of poultry waste as a fertilizer.

Defendants argue: The poultry companies say there is no evidence that any poultry applied to the land has caused or could cause pollution in the Illinois River watershed. In fact, many of the causes of bacterial and pathogenic water contamination are likely caused by cattle manure. Area nurseries and municipal wastewater treatment plants within the watershed are also large contributors to degradation of the watershed. Click here to read the full article.

By JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Attorneys for Oklahoma and the Arkansas poultry industry traded barbs in federal court Thursday, disputing whether the companies knew for decades that over-application of chicken waste on farmland was polluting the Illinois River watershed.

“They have been aware of these problems, and the evidence pointing in their direction for years,” said Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson, who presented the first part of the state’s opening remarks in its pollution lawsuit against 11 poultry companies. As he spoke, photographs of poultry litter piled high near barns and river banks flashed on monitors.

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