A fourth poultry company has agreed to end a nearly 20-year old legal fight with Oklahoma over the pollution of the Illinois River Watershed.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond reached a deal with Peterson Farms Inc., a now dissolved poultry company, It agreed to pay $950,000 for remediation and conservation projects in the eastern part of the state’s Illinois River. Peterson will also pay attorneys fees as well as a $50,000 payment to a special master to monitor implementation.
Oklahoma Voice reported the agreement also contains land application restrictions should the company or its successor raise chickens. The company sold its chicken operation to Simmons Foods and dissolved. It left the watershed in 2008. The agreement still has to be approved by the federal court.
“Protecting Oklahoma’s water and ensuring a thriving poultry industry are not mutually exclusive – they go hand in hand,” he said. “We remain committed to pursuing comprehensive resolutions with the remaining defendants, Cal-Maine and Simmons, that safeguard Oklahoma’s waters for future generations while keeping our poultry industry strong and sustainable.”
An attorney for Peterson Farms, Scott McDaniel said if the court approves the agreement, it will be a reasonable resolution to the claims made against the company. everyone involved, he said.
“Peterson Farms has consistently held throughout this 20-plus year litigation that both it and the farm families that raised chickens for Peterson Farms were good stewards of the land and water, who complied with their nutrient management plans,” McDaniel said.
Former Attorney General Drew Edmondson filed the original lawsuit in 2005, accusing the poultry industry of pollution through excessive poultry waste used as farmland fertilizer.
The agreement also contains land application restrictions should the company or its successor raise chickens. The company sold its chicken operation to Simmons Foods and dissolved. It left the watershed in 2008.
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