Oklahoma Republicans pick poultry over people, 20 years after the state waged war on chicken poop

One of the earliest lessons parents teach their children is if they break someone else’s things — even if it’s by accident — they have a responsibility to make it right.

This virtue transcends into adulthood in practical ways, such as carrying automobile insurance in case of a crash or paying restitution following a crime.

Stecklein

But a group of influential Oklahoma Republicans apparently believe this moral code applies to everyone except our state’s poultry industry. Because otherwise, they’d be celebrating a long-awaited decision mandating those big businesses to fix the damage they’ve caused to our waters while spreading too much phosphorus-rich chicken manure as fertilizer. The practice has damaged the ecosystem in eastern Oklahoma and neighboring Arkansas.

Over the past few weeks, it’s been embarrassing to watch these Republicans — including Gov. Kevin Stitt, House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, several gubernatorial hopefuls and a number of other elected lawmakers — publicly bow before their agricultural overlords and kiss their ring in a bid to gain favor.

Usually this obscene obsequiousness occurs behind closed doors, but apparently the Farm Bureau has grown so powerful that lawmakers are more fearful about being viewed as disloyal to this group than to their constituents.

The poultry industry, meanwhile, is panicking.

They’ve been on notice now for at least two decades that their practice of spreading copious amounts of chicken poop across the Illinois River Watershed has been polluting the area that millions of people in two states rely on for drinking water and recreational purposes. The 100-mile Illinois River begins in the Ozarks in northwest Arkansas and runs through the mountains in eastern Oklahoma before dumping into Tenkiller Ferry Lake.

Former Democratic Attorney General Drew Edmondson first sued several large companies over 20 years ago to stop their contractors’ pollution and to press the companies to repair it. While there has been some movement to fix the issue, it’s been slow, and a judge has found it’s been insufficient to restore the contaminated ecosystem.

And the industry continues to spread poop.

The case languished in court for decades, but now these bad environmental policies are coming home to roost thanks to a rare Republican leader: Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who refuses to let the industry get away with it.

Just before Christmas, federal Judge Gregory Frizzell, who was appointed by former Republican U.S. President George W. Bush, found several large poultry companies that have operated across the watershed responsible for polluting it.

He ordered the companies to pay to fix it and to immediately put $10 million into a fund to begin. He also limited how much manure they can spread.

The companies, including Tyson, Cargill, George’s, Simmons, Cobb-Vantress, and Cal-Maine, have appealed.

In recent weeks, the debacle has revealed unsavory flavors of Oklahoma politics and the role that agriculture lobbyists still play in shaping our political outcomes, even as our state becomes increasingly urban and suburban.

At a Dec. 16 poultry industry rally backed by the Oklahoma Farm Bureau in Adair County, Republicans vied to be seen.

Speaker Hilbert told the crowd that the Oklahoma Legislature has proven to poultry producers that “we’re going to have your backs.” He said they’ve done that not just with words, but with actions. He celebrated a new law that limits the poultry industry’s liability.

What about having the backs of the rest of us who don’t have as much money or influence and that don’t work in agriculture?

Why aren’t our lawmakers passing legislation that makes sure that we all have clean water, unpolluted lands and stringent environmental protections? Why do the interests of a minority of agriculture producers outweigh everyone else’s?

Stitt, meanwhile, told the industry that he’s standing with them. Bizarrely, he’s convinced that this is an issue of trial attorneys trying to get rich.

He told the crowd that he fired his previous secretary of energy and environment because he refused to write Judge Frizzell a letter stating that Oklahoma is not “trying to go after your (poultry) industry” and instead attended a court hearing supporting the litigation.

One would think that it’s good that former secretary Ken McQueen chose to stand up for the average Joe.

“I fired him on the spot,” Stitt said to cheering and applause, adding that he appointed Jeff Starling to the post.

Take note, Starling, who Stitt said also attended the rally, is running as a Republican for attorney general. I suspect we all know exactly what will happen to this lawsuit if Starling wins.

Stitt said he’s pushing for a “common sense settlement” that protects both the environment and food producers. He believes if spreading poultry waste is banned, nobody is going to want to grow chickens in Oklahoma.

The industry has had decades to sort this out and could have if they wanted. Clearly, they’re not willing to do so in a manner that best serves public interest. And we should not give away the farm to settle this, not when we have a group of lawmakers championing weak environmental protections that favor industry over people.

Maybe the better solution is for the industry to leave Oklahoma and spread their manure in another state if they won’t make things right. It’s not like we’re getting discounted eggs at the grocery store.

According to Stitt, former House Speaker Charles McCall was one of four 2026 Republican gubernatorial hopefuls that attended the rally. Chip Keating, Mike Mazzei and Jake Merrick were the others. Drummond, who is also running, did not attend.

McCall is particularly proud of his decision to champion Senate Bill 1424, which he said “protects growers from lawsuits when they follow environmental rules set by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.”

What McCall omits is that the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality has the reputation of being an ankle-biting chihuahua, not an attack dog that passes regulations that clearly protect the public and environment.  If they did, we wouldn’t be here.

One can only hope our politicians won’t forget who actually elects them and who they’re supposed to be serving — people, not special interests.

But if this rally, candidate pool and pandering is any indication of what’s to come, don’t count on it.

Oklahoma Voice (oklahomavoice.com) is an affiliate of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, supported by grants and donations. Oklahoma Voice provides nonpartisan reporting, and retains full editorial independence.