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Witnesses in poultry case blame river pollution on cows, humansTULSA, Okla. (AP)--Cow manure and other waste may pose more of a threat to the Illinois River watershed than chicken litter spread by poultry companies, according to testimony from three witnesses at a federal court hearing March 7. Dr. Billy Clay, a veterinary toxicologist, testified that there is 10 times more cow manure dropped in the watershed than waste from poultry and that it is more likely to be a cause of pollution than chicken waste. "The cow manure is dropped daily. Chicken litter is stored for several months before it is spread on the watershed," said Clay, who owns a consulting firm for businesses with environmental issues. Clay was the second of three witnesses called by the poultry companies on the sixth day of a hearing in Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson's attempt to stop the industry from disposing of chicken waste in the 1 million-acre watershed. More than 576,000 acres of the watershed are in Oklahoma. Edmondson has asked U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell for an injunction to stop the practice. He claims that unless it is granted before spring rains, bacteria found in the waste could pose a health threat to thousands of people that visit the river valley every year. Michael Richard Dicks, an agricultural economist and professor at Oklahoma State University, testified that the watershed's agricultural economy would lose between $20 million and $78 million each year that the injunction remains in place. Dicks said a cost-benefit analysis he performed on the impact of the injunction indicated farmers would pay more for chemical fertilizer to replace poultry litter and that the size of cattle herds which eat grass and hay that the litter helps produce would shrink. When cross-examined by Edmondson, Dicks testified that he did not analyze the value or benefit of an injunction, including increased tourism and recreation. He also said he didn't do an analysis of the health benefits of an injunction. Clay said that poultry litter consists mainly of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and has a number of benefits, including as an important source of fertilizer for food production. He also said that Edmondson's estimate of the amount of poultry litter production conflicts with other sources. Edmondson says the area produces 345,000 tons of litter each year, but Clay said his estimate is 230,000 tons. Geochemist Remy J.C. Hennet testified that he analyzed data from Edmondson's scientific experts and found the results were not scientifically supported. Hennet said that their hypothesis was not properly tested and that cattle, malfunctioning septic systems and wildlife could all be the cause of the pollution. "You have several sources that do contribute to the chemistry and the biology of the watershed," Hennet said. "You have animals living in the watershed." Using a variety of charts and graphs that were displayed on television screens in the courtroom, Hennet said that the findings of the attorney general's experts provided "significant uncertainty." "The result is not unique to poultry litter," Hennet said. "It's the commingling of different sources all together." Dr. Herbert Dupont, an infectious disease specialist from St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston, also testified that human waste and cow manure are more likely to pollute the Illinois River than chicken litter and said the bacteria count in the river is too low to cause illnesses such as salmonella. "It isn't a problem in my opinion," said Dupont, a consultant for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "If poultry was a real reservoir, we'd know about that. Chicken ain't the source." Dupont seemed to contradict a Harvard-trained expert who testified on March 3. Robert Lawrence, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, testified that bacteria levels from land application of poultry waste in the watershed represent a "real and present danger" to public health. Lawrence said that because of the level of contamination in the watershed, swimmers and canoeists in the Illinois River need to be informed of the risk. Approximately 155,000 people recreate in the river each year. State and environmental officials claim that years of illegal spreading of the waste, which could include bacteria, antibiotics and harmful metals, is killing Oklahoma's scenic lakes. Edmondson sued the poultry companies in 2005, alleging that litter pollution had made Lake Tenkiller in northeastern Oklahoma 70 percent oxygen dead. Edmondson has accused the companies of treating Oklahoma's rivers like open sewers. Companies named in the 2005 complaint include Tyson Foods Inc., Tyson Poultry Inc., Tyson Chicken Inc., Cobb-Vantress 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. 3/17/08 Date: 3/13/08 Advertisement
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