Oklahoma asks federal judge to fine big poultry companies millions for polluting Illinois River
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond is asking a federal judge to fine some of the nation’s largest poultry companies tens of millions of dollars and order them to stop spreading bird waste in sensitive areas that drain into the Illinois River.
On July 9, Drummond’s office filed a proposed final judgment in the state’s decadeslong federal lawsuit against poultry companies including Tyson Foods, Simmons Foods and Cargill.
The state’s federal lawsuit against the poultry companies was filed by then-Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson in 2005. The trial was held in 2009 and 2010, but it would be 13 years before the judge in the case. U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell issued a ruling in 2023 in favor of the state, finding that the companies knowingly contributed to pollution in the Illinois River, which allowed phosphorus to flow into the river, causing algae blooms, diminished water clarity and other environmental harm.
Shortly after Frizzell issued his ruling, the poultry companies and the Attorney General’s office asked the judge to consider whether evidence presented at trial was still relevant or whether industry practices had changed enough to make the issue moot. In June, Frizzell ruled that they had not and that the poultry companies were still polluting the Illinois River watershed.
If adopted by the judge, the state’s proposed final order would bar poultry litter application on land with high phosphorus concentrations within the Illinois River Watershed or any other “nutrient sensitive watershed.”
The proposed order would also allow the court to appoint a special master to oversee soil cleanup in the watershed and conduct monitoring and enforcement. The poultry companies would be responsible for funding the special master’s work with an initial deposit of $10 million, which the companies would replenish when it drops below $5 million. Remediation efforts are expected to take decades.
The proposed order states that cleanup options could include increased treatment of drinking water, soil excavation, building new wetlands and exporting poultry waste, among other options.
Oklahoma is asking the court to fine the poultry companies for violating the state’s anti-pollution law, which sets a maximum penalty of $10,000 each day a violation occurs. The proposed order seeks the maximum penalty on each of the companies dating back to the late 1990s.
For Tyson, the total bill would come to around $28.9 million; Cargill would be required to pay around $23.7 million; George’s Inc. would be required to pay $5.2 million; Simmons would be required to pay more than $27.1 million and Cal-Maine Foods would be on the hook for more than $18.2 million. Those requested penalties are in addition to the amounts the companies would be required to pay for cleanup and the special master’s work.
The poultry companies have until July 30 to file their response, and following that, the state has until August 11 to respond to the companies’ filing.
In December, Gov. Kevin Stitt fired then-Secretary of Energy and Environment Ken McQueen after he attended the evidentiary hearing and appointed corporate attorney Jeff Starling to the post. Stitt has been critical of the lawsuit against the poultry companies, saying the successful lawsuit would cause deep harm to the business environment of the state. Starling, who has also criticized the lawsuit as being anti-business, announced earlier this month that he was running for state attorney general in 2026. Drummond is running for governor.
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