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Expert: Don't discount waste from other animalsTULSA, Okla. (AP)--It would be a "huge mistake" to discount the bacteria from waste deposited by animals near or in the Illinois River watershed and only focus on the effects of poultry litter there, an environmental engineer testified in federal court March 10. "Proximity trumps quantity," said Samuel Myoda, vice president of the Institute of Environmental Health Laboratories and Consulting Group in Lake Forest Park, Wash. Myoda, an expert witness called by attorneys for 13 Arkansas-based poultry companies being sued by Oklahoma, said other animals, such as cattle, rodents, deer and waterfowl, defecating at or in the stream play a "huge role" in the bacteria levels in the watershed. March 10 was the seventh day of testimony in the preliminary injunction case brought by Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson to prevent the poultry companies from disposing of chicken waste in the 1 million-acre river valley. He claims that unless it is granted before the spring rains, bacteria found in the waste could pose a health threat to thousands of people who visit the northeastern Oklahoma watershed every year. Myoda also testified that manure from an estimated 200,000 cattle raised in the watershed proved a better environment for bacteria to grow in, instead of the poultry litter that is spread on farm fields as a dust-like material and exposed to sunlight that kills contaminants. He later referenced a study on water quality impacts of a herd of dairy cows crossing a stream which found that the cattle were more likely to defecate in the water. Poultry company attorneys also sought March 10 to cast doubt upon the science used by Valerie Harwood, one of the state's expert witnesses. Harwood, a microbiologist and professor at the University of South Florida, testified earlier that she used microbial source tracking to trace a path that contamination from poultry waste travels from fields into the watershed. Myoda criticized the science, saying it was relatively new and untested and that the sample size of animals was low. Long days of testimony seemed to finally catch up with U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell, who scolded attorneys on both sides for redundancies in their questions to witnesses, telling them not to "plow the same ground" and that the parties should "move on." In testimony March 7, three witnesses called by the poultry companies testified that cow manure and other waste may pose more of a threat to the Illinois River watershed than chicken litter. One of those witnesses, veterinary toxicologist Dr. Billy Clay, 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 state estimates that more than 345,000 tons of poultry waste is produced annually in the watershed, with the bulk of that tonnage disposed of in the same area. More than 1,800 poultry houses are in the watershed, most of them in Arkansas. In opening remarks last month, Edmondson said the state's evidence would show that the poultry companies' persistent 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." The hearing on the injunction is part of Oklahoma's ongoing lawsuit against the poultry companies for polluting the watershed with chicken litter. State and environmental officials contend that years of illegal spreading of the poultry waste, which could contain bacteria, antibiotics 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 the companies of treating Oklahoma's rivers like open sewers. More than 576,000 acres of the watershed are located in Oklahoma. 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. The hearing continues Tuesday morning in federal court. 3/24/08 Date: 3/20/08 Advertisement
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