The two decades-long litigation over alleged pollution by major broiler integrators in the Illinois River watershed has led to preliminary settlements that have yet to be approved. To date, Peterson Farms, George’s, Inc., Tyson Foods, Inc. and Cargill, Inc. have agreed to settle with the State Attorney General, Gentner Drummond. Oklahoma has yet to negotiate a settlement with Cal-Maine Foods, an egg producer and Simmons Foods, a broiler integrator.
U.S. Federal District Judge Gregory. Frizzell has raised issues with the proposed settlement relating to Oklahoma v. Tyson Foods, Inc. over long-term implications for disposal of waste. Litter application by existing contractors would be subject to declining increments down to 20 percent of present volume over five succeeding years. The possibility of additional contractors and increased volumes of production in the watershed could negate the beneficial environmental effects of the settlement. If Judge Frizzell refuses to sanction the settlement agreements the co-defendants have signaled their intention to resort to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals
Blayne Arthur the Secretary of the Oklahoma State Department of Agriculture and Jeff Starling Secretary of the Department of Energy and Environment have questioned the proposed settlement. Negotiations were initiated in 2005 by then Attorney General Drew Edmonds after a federal judge ruled that the eleven poultry companies were responsible for phosphorus pollution in the Illinois river watershed. The Secretaries have urged scrutiny of the proposed settlements they characterize as “imbalanced”. In their comments, the Secretaries consider that the settlement would result in a “fragmented regulatory landscape in which companies competing in the same market operate under dramatically different rules”. The proposed settlement also allows the Oklahoma Attorney General, to decide on payments without recourse to the Legislature.
Disposal of poultry waste previously applied to agricultural land will be subject to increased regulation given the potential for eutrophication from phosphorus runoff into waterways suggesting alternative methods of disposal or pre-treatment before application.
Expedient resolution of the impasse is important since Tyson Foods will not place chicks with contractors operating in the Illinois River watershed until a settlement is finalized.