OKLAHOMA CITY – Gov. Kevin Stitt, some state lawmakers, and the attorney general are in a heated three-way debate over a 20-year-old lawsuit involving poultry waste.
Over the past two weeks, Stitt, the attorny general, and members of the Oklahoma Legislature have been debating a lawsuit filed against major poultry companies over pollution of the Illinois River.
The lawsuit, filed in 2005 by then-AG Drew Edmondson, targeted Tyson Foods, and other Arkansas poultry producers, that Edmondson said were polluting the Illinois River with poultry waste which flowed downriver into Oklahoma.
In 2023, U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell ruled in favor of the state and ordered each side to reach an agreement. After negotiations broke down, the court held a six-day evidentiary hearing and reaffirmed the findings that the watershed is still impaired.
The AG said he wants to fine the companies more than $100 million and require them to pay for cleanup and restoration efforts across the Illinois River watershed. He said the state would levy penalties against Tyson, Cargill, George's, Simmons, and Cal-Maine for violations of the Oklahoma Environmental Quality Code. The attorney general also requested that the companies be required to fund a restoration plan for the watershed.
Stitt disagreed. He sent a letter to the AG urging a compromise.
“Due to this litigation, family farms across the Illinois River Watershed are hearing that their leases to grow chickens may not be renewed,” Stitt wrote, calling the concern “a fivealarm fire that has Adair County leaders speaking out with concern for their fellow Oklahomans.”
The AG countered Stitt’s warning, saying that the industry may lead the state in a “misinformation campaign.”
“Tyson is actively working to acquire additional processing capacity in the watershed,” the AG said. “Tyson is engaging in shameless gamesmanship, using Oklahoma’s hardworking farmers as pawns while threatening to withdraw contracts.”
The AG said the poultry companies’ statements were filled inaccuracies surrounding the ongoing litigation to protect water quality in the Illinois Ri ver watershed. He said the effort was “a coordinated misinformation campaign by Tyson Foods.”
'Tyson Foods is engaging in shameless gamesmanship, using Oklahoma's hardworking farmers as pawns while threatening to withdraw contracts,' the AG said. 'But Tyson's actions speak louder than their empty threats. Even as they claim to be concerned about this litigation, Tyson is actively working to acquire additional processing capacity in the watershed. Oklahomans deserve better than corporate intimidation tactics from a company that has repeatedly shown it prioritizes profits over people and environmental responsibility.'
State Rep. David Hardin, R-Stilwell, echoed Stitt’s concern.
“While the Environmental Protection Agency promotes the Illinois River watershed as a water quality success story and the Oklahoma Tourism Department promotes the water quality of Illinois River and Lake Tenkiller, the AG’s office is telling a federal judge the Illinois River is polluted to the point that poultry companies should be fined hundreds of millions of dollars,” Hardin said in a media statemen t. 'The Attorney General's proposal would devastate county governments, school districts, small businesses and countless Oklahoma families.'
Hardin said concerns by the Adair County commissioners emphasized the importance of balancing environmental goals with economic stability.
“Eastern Oklahoma should not be put at risk while decisions are made without fully weighing the progress that has been achieved or the families who depend on this industry,” Hardin said. “Water quality challenges deserve meaningful attention, but we can address those concerns with science, long-term planning, and cooperation between both states. I stand with the Adair County commissioners in supporting solutions that protect our natural resources and preserve the jobs, investment, and economic health of our rural communities.”
Hardin said decades of coordinated conservation work have produced improvements in the watershed.
“Local, state and federal partners have invested years into improving the Illinois River, and the data show those efforts are working,' he said. 'We should continue building on that progress while also safeguarding the economic stability of the counties that rely on agriculture to survive.”
Hardin said that off icials in Arkansas “have shown more interest in water quality than we have” and have invested in tens of millions of dollars in improvements for recreation and water quality monitoring and improvement.
“We need to focus on investment in water quality, not litigation,” Hardin said.
Hardin said he supports continued collaboration among agencies, landowners, and state leaders to protect water quality and maintain the long-term economic well-being of eastern Oklahoma.
State lawmakers will return to the Capitol in February.