Federal judge finds poultry waste is still polluting eastern Oklahoma waters
by Nuria Martinez-Keel, Oklahoma Voice
June 20, 2025
OKLAHOMA CITY — Now with a critical court decision in hand, Attorney General Gentner Drummond said he hopes to settle a 20-year-long lawsuit over pollution to the Illinois River Watershed.
In a decision released this week, a Tulsa federal judge determined poultry farm runoff in eastern Oklahoma is still harming the Illinois River, Lake Tenkiller and connected waterways. U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell found that “conditions have not materially changed in the Illinois River Watershed” since the lawsuit went to trial in 2010.
Drummond’s past attempts at mediation with poultry producers broke down, as the corporations alleged that phosphorus levels causing the pollution had significantly reduced, the Attorney General’s Office said.
Evidentiary hearings Frizzell hosted in December led to his conclusion on Tuesday that poultry waste is still causing unnaturally high phosphorus levels in Illinois River waterways, building up algae and worsening water quality.
Frizzell ruled in 2023 that poultry companies, including Tyson Foods, are responsible for elevated phosphorus levels that had been recorded in the past in the Illinois River. The Attorney General’s Office presented more recent information and data during the December evidentiary hearings.
The judge could enter a final decision in the case before the end of the year, Drummond said. That decision likely would order the corporations to immediately stop spreading poultry waste on the land in the Illinois River Watershed area, he said, and the companies are likely to file an appeal.
While those decisions are pending, the attorney general said he intends to negotiate. Drummond said he is open to a settlement that would give poultry producers a several-year runway to remove the pollutants.
Such an agreement could protect the poultry industry’s profits while also restoring the watershed, he said.
“I don’t think that they’re mutually exclusive,” Drummond told Oklahoma Voice. “My objective in the end is we continue to have a vibrant poultry industry in Oklahoma and we have a path through which the watershed is rehabilitated and healed.”
Former Attorney General Drew Edmondson filed the lawsuit in 2005. A 2010 trial resulted in court-ordered mediation between the state and the corporations to determine remedies for the pollution. In the years since, negotiations failed to result in an agreement. The corporations sought to have the case dismissed.
Gov. Kevin Stitt has said he is “100% against” using a lawsuit to force poultry companies to change their policies. Stitt has been a vocal critic of the case, calling it an attempt “to get a pound of flesh” out of poultry businesses that he said had been following the law.
He even fired his secretary of energy and environment last year for attending the December evidentiary hearings in Frizzell’s courtroom.
Stitt’s office did not return a request for comment Friday on the judge’s recent ruling.
In an April news conference, the governor said improving the Illinois River Watershed would be better accomplished through legislation or through action from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.
He signed a bill into law last year that protects poultry companies from future lawsuits as long as they are complying with a state-approved waste disposal plan.
Drummond, a Republican candidate running to succeed Stitt as governor, said the new law won’t have any bearing on the Illinois River case, but “it illustrates how effective and powerful the poultry lobby is on Oklahoma legislators.”
The attorney general said he hopes to resolve the 20-year-long lawsuit during his tenure in office. So far, he said, the corporations have shown more interest in litigating than reaching a final resolution.
“I think every year that they can delay, that’s just additional profits that they can enjoy, and that’s disappointing,” Drummond said. “I wish that they would recognize, say, ‘We’re the cause of the watershed’s deterioration, and we should self-police and can coordinate with the state on a path through which we remove the pollutants in the watershed and give Mother Nature an opportunity to heal herself.’”
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.
Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond stated that this ruling could aid in resolving a lawsuit against poultry companies, including Tyson Foods, that has been ongoing for two decades. Although Governor Kevin Stitt is against utilizing the courts to enforce changes in the industry, Drummond expressed his hope for a settlement that would safeguard both the watershed and the poultry sector. A conclusive court ruling is anticipated later this year.
