"I think that phosphorus in the streams and rivers in eastern Oklahoma is a problem, yes," Peach said. "But there are multiple sources that contribute to the problem, of which the poultry industry is one, but there are other contributors."

"The companies have the resources to help their growers deal with the litter, but they refuse to fund simple solutions such as trucking it out of the watershed and selling it to other farmers," said Lou Reynolds, chairman of the Tulsa Metropolitan Utility Authority. "They are content to hide behind their lawyers."

TULSA, Okla. (AP)--State officials and landowners are having mixed reactions to Attorney General Drew Edmondson's decision to pursue legal action against 14 poultry companies, alleging violations of the federal Solid Waste Disposal Act.

After both sides announced Aug. 18 that mediation had failed, Edmondson said he would push ahead with the water-quality lawsuit filed in June in federal court in Tulsa.

The attorney general also said he would seek an injunction to ban poultry farmers from applying excess chicken litter to the land as fertilizer.

David R. Ketcher, a landowner who lives southeast of Jay, said he thinks Edmondson should sue individual farmers who are responsible for pollution, not the poultry industry.

"They have made the poultry industry a whipping boy," Ketcher said. "It is unjustified. It is politics at its worst."

Tulsan Charlie M. Golden, who has a cattle ranch in Rogers County, said he is concerned a lawsuit will drive up the cost of poultry products. He also is concerned that other sources are contributing to excess phosphorus in the watersheds.

Agriculture Secretary Terry Peach said poultry growers in the area are actually meeting standards set by the state Legislature.

Peach said he was disappointed an agreement could not be reached to protect the water and allow the industry to remain profitable.

"I think that phosphorus in the streams and rivers in eastern Oklahoma is a problem, yes," Peach said. "But there are multiple sources that contribute to the problem, of which the poultry industry is one, but there are other contributors."

Tulsa Mayor Bill LaFortune said the poultry companies have a powerful lobbying group and that the issue is complex.

"The poultry companies say the farmers are in compliance with what the law requires, but the laws they are referring to are outdated and still allow for increasing pollution," he said.

"Laws need to be strengthened in Oklahoma and in Arkansas, where the poultry farms are abundant."

Tulsa settled its own water-quality lawsuit with a group of poultry companies in 2003.

"The companies have the resources to help their growers deal with the litter, but they refuse to fund simple solutions such as trucking it out of the watershed and selling it to other farmers," said Lou Reynolds, chairman of the Tulsa Metropolitan Utility Authority. "They are content to hide behind their lawyers."

Reynolds said Edmondson should be commended for not allowing the companies to threaten him with rhetoric about their industry crumbling if the companies are held responsible for the pollution they create.

In their statement on the failed mediation, the poultry companies warned that litigation "may well serve a devastating blow to the farming economy of Oklahoma."

Date: 9/22/05

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