Oklahoma AG to try again to settle poultry pollution lawsuit

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s attorney general on Monday unveiled a new attempt to settle a decades-old case with six poultry companies who have been court-ordered to clean up eastern Oklahoma waterways.

Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced he planned to ask federal Judge Gregory K. Frizzell to sign off on a nearly $44 million, seven-year settlement with poultry companies Tyson Foods, Cargill, George’s, Peterson Farms, Cal-Maine and Simmons Foods.

Frizzell, who serves in Oklahoma’s Northern District Court, in December found that runoff from the companies’ poultry waste caused high phosphorus levels in the Illinois River Watershed and worsened water quality. He ordered the companies, who have denied wrongdoing, to fund cleanup for 30 years and pay $10 million to start.

The watershed runs between both northwest Arkansas and Oklahoma. 

Drummond said in a statement that the latest settlement attempt allows the state to “turn the page” on the dispute, which has been lingering in federal court since 2005. He said it protects Oklahoma’s water while providing certainty for the poultry industry.

He previously attempted to settle the suit with Tyson, Cargill and George’s for a total of $30.5 million. Frizzell rejected the agreements because he found they didn’t go far enough with cleanup requirements or address that the companies’ poultry waste management was still polluting waterways, among other reasons.

“When the court asked us to strengthen the agreement, we went back to work and reached a better result,” Drummond said in a statement. “Every company has now made enforceable commitments with clear deadlines, creating a balanced solution that protects our natural resources while supporting one of Oklahoma’s most important industries.”

If approved by Frizzell, the state will move to vacate the judge’s previous judgement and dismiss the case. 

Collectively, the poultry companies would be required to pay over $41.6 million to Oklahoma’s Environmental Relief Fund. 

They will also be required to partially fund riparian buffer strips, which are vegetation adjacent to a body of water that can naturally filter runoff. 

Five of the companies will also need to collectively pay $420,000 into a “penalty fund” that will be directed to the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, according to the settlement agreement. 

All six companies will contribute funding for an independent auditor who will monitor their compliance with the terms of the settlement. A total of $1.9 million will go toward this fund, with differing amounts from each company. 

By the end of the seven year settlement, no more than 20% of the annual waste from poultry houses can be applied to land within the watershed. The agreement tapers down the amount over the course of the settlement. 

Oklahoma Farm Bureau President Stacy Simunek said in a statement that the group is “pleased” with the proposed settlement. 

“The original lawsuit, filed in 2005, created uncertainty for family farmers and ranchers for more than two decades, and this agreement provides a way for Oklahoma farm and ranch families to continue their important work to feed Americans without being unnecessarily burdened,” he said. 

Gov. Kevin Stitt, though, criticized it, saying in a statement that the settlement would create incentives for future lawsuits and settlements against the state’s agriculture industry. 

“It is a shame that State Attorney General Gentner Drummond put our family-owned farmers through years of uncertainty and threats to ultimately reach the agreement I called for him to negotiate long ago,” Stitt said. “His delay tactics and theatrics were clearly unnecessary and harmed real Oklahomans in an attempt to benefit his trial attorney supporters.”