Judge reverses decision on poultry trial evidence

Judge reverses earlier decision to bar reports on chicken waste in federal pollution trial

• By Justin Juozapavicius, Associated Press Writer
• On 8:03 am EDT, Thursday October 1, 2009

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Reversing himself, a federal judge hearing Oklahoma's pollution lawsuit against the Arkansas poultry industry decided Wednesday afternoon to admit government reports describing problems associated with chicken waste in the Illinois River valley and what to do about it.

Hours earlier, attorneys for the 11 poultry companies being sued by Oklahoma persuaded U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell to exclude some of the reports indicating the industry was largely responsible for pollution in the watershed on the Oklahoma-Arkansas border.

But after a midday break, Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson told the judge the poultry companies had not objected to the reports before the trial began.

Edmondson told Frizzell the studies -- conducted by state and federal agencies since the early 1990s -- identified poultry litter as a major source of phosphorus pollution in the 1-million-acre watershed.

Attorneys for the defendants, which include Tyson Foods Inc. and Cargill Inc., had argued the reports were "political" documents aimed more at developing a legal strategy against them than providing scientific information to the public.

"It's self-serving hearsay," Tyson attorney Mark Hopson argued during the morning session.

Hopson said the reports were filled with disparaging -- and unsubstantiated -- comments about his client and the application of poultry litter.

The sudden reversal added a twist on the first day of testimony in the 2005 lawsuit, which claims hundreds of thousands of tons of bird waste spread on fields each year as a cheap fertilizer has been a major cause of pollution in the watershed.

The outcome of the case is being closely monitored by other states thinking about challenging the way the poultry industry does business.

For its first witness, Oklahoma called Miles Tolbert, the state's former environmental secretary who helped file the lawsuit.

By questioning Tolbert and using historical documents and public records, Edmondson attempted to build a timeline tracing the decades-long deterioration of the watershed.

Tolbert summarized reports from the late 1800s that described the Illinois River as among "prettiest" on the continent and noted an outdoor guide published in the 1950s described a clear, cold river.

"It is the most recreated river in the state," Tolbert testified, noting that tens of thousands of people raft and fish there each year. "The reason to go there is because there is water."

Tolbert stepped down last year for a job in the private sector. His successor, J.D. Strong, also is expected to testify.

For decades, farmers in northeastern Oklahoma have emptied litter from their chicken houses and spread the droppings on their fields to grow other crops. Oklahoma's lawsuit claims runoff from the fields has polluted the river with harmful bacteria.

The industry says it has acted responsibly and within the law in the way it handles poultry waste.

The other defendants named in the lawsuit are Cal-Maine Foods Inc.; Tyson Poultry Inc., Tyson Chicken Inc., Cobb-Vantress Inc., Cargill Turkey Production L.L.C., George's Inc., George's Farms Inc., Peterson Farms Inc. and Simmons Foods Inc.

The trial is scheduled to resume Thursday.

Buzz up!