Oklahoma Attorney General Stresses Water Quality At Conference
Last updated Tuesday, November 14, 2006 6:26 PM CST in News
By Tim Talley
The Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Attorney General Drew Edmondson, who is suing Arkansas poultry producers over alleged pollution of Oklahoma lakes and streams by chicken litter, said Tuesday the state will face dire consequences if it does not protect the quality of its water.
"Destroy the water and the farms will disappear and the people will leave the cities," Edmondson said during an address before water managers and planners at the Oklahoma Governor's Water Conference.
"Destroy the water and you destroy the future for our children and our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren," he said. More than half of Edmondson's audience gave him a standing ovation at the end of his 30-minute speech.
A spokesman for the poultry industry said it is not solely to blame for pollution in Oklahoma waterways and there is still a chance a negotiated settlement can be reached.
"It's going to take time. It's going to take work," said John Ward of The Poultry Federation. "We can do this if we work together."
Edmondson filed a federal lawsuit against 14 Arkansas-based poultry companies last year, accusing them of polluting the Illinois River watershed.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Tulsa, alleges state and federal laws are being violated by improper disposal of chicken litter containing dangerous metals, bacteria and high levels of nutrients.
The lawsuit, scheduled for trial in 2008, also alleges high phosphorous levels in the waste cause excessive algae growth and can eventually cause high levels of cancer-causing chemicals in drinking water.
Edmondson, who was re-elected to a fourth four-year term on Nov. 7, said his office can trace coliform bacteria and algae growth in lakes and streams in northeastern Oklahoma to the overapplication of chicken litter by poultry growers and producers.
He said the amount of phosphorus dumped on the ground every year in the Illinois River watershed is equivalent to the waste of 10.7 million people -- more than the population of Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas combined.
Edmondson said 70 percent of northeastern Oklahoma's Lake Tenkiller is "oxygen dead," meaning fish cannot survive there, and Lake Francis, once a recreational lake in eastern Oklahoma along the Arkansas border, is no more than a marsh today.
"It is rancid," Edmondson said. "That's the future unless we do something about it."
Ward disputed some of Edmondson assertions, particularly his analogy of the phosphorous in the watershed being equal to the waste of 10.7 million people.
"That almost seems ridiculous," Ward said. "Maybe it's perfectly accurate."
Ward said the poultry industry last year gave $1.2 million to the Scenic Rivers Commission to conduct restorative work along the Illinois River. But Edmondson said that is nowhere near the cost of damage caused by pollutants over the years.
He said Springdale-based Tyson Foods spends $75 million a year on advertising alone.
Ward said the poultry industry wants to negotiate a solution rather than fight the attorney general in court.
"We believe there are opportunities to work together," Ward said.
"I have said all along that my door is always open," Edmondson replied. The attorney general filed the federal lawsuit after negotiations with poultry producers failed to produce an agreement.
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Mark Hammons wrote on Feb 13, 2007 7:42 AM:
Not already registered?
Wake up Arkansas wrote on Nov 15, 2006 11:23 PM: