Judge weighs immediacy vs. efficacy in Oklahoma poultry waste settlement proposal

Oklahoma could be one step closer to ending its decades-long court battle with poultry companies over pollution in the Illinois River Watershed. A federal judge heard attorneys’ thoughts on a settlement agreement with one poultry company on Friday and will hear more on agreements with other companies this week.

Federal District Court Judge Gregory Frizzell found in 2023 that the poultry companies’ handling of chicken waste was contributing to pollution in northeast Oklahoma. At that time, he directed the companies and the state to figure out a plan to clean up the watershed and prevent future pollution.

They did not.

So in December 2025, Frizzell issued a final order, directing each company to pay millions of dollars for cleanup and a special master to oversee it. The companies have filed appeals and requested stays of that ruling.

Now, several defendants have reached more favorable settlement deals with the state. But it’s up to Frizzell whether to approve those settlements.

In his Tulsa courtroom Friday, Frizzell considered the first of those agreements: the one between the state and George’s, Inc.

Frizzell expressed reservations about whether the settlement funds would be sufficient to cover George’s share of the cleanup. Although he said it had been difficult to determine each company’s fair portion of the cleanup due to recordkeeping at the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

The judge also questioned whether the seven-year plan outlined in the settlement would allow enough time for soil phosphorus levels in the watershed to improve. Frizzell cited expert testimony that it would take 30 years to reduce soil phosphorus to desired levels.

Although more money and time could allow for better restoration of the watershed, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said the settlement “prioritizes finality, certainty and immediacy.”

When Frizzell questioned whether Drummond was bowing to political pressure, the attorney general said he was considering “political reality.” He warned that his time as attorney general is drawing to a close, and his successor may decline to fight appeals from the poultry companies.

In recent months, Drummond’s handling of the case has brought criticism from Gov. Kevin Stitt. He’s also received flak from former state lawmaker Charles McCall, who will appear alongside Drummond as a Republican candidate for governor on June’s primary ballot. The poultry litter case cost Drummond an endorsement from the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association.

Much of the criticism has focused on how the case will affect contract poultry growers in Oklahoma. They work with the large poultry integrators who stand to pay for watershed remediation.

Tyson, in particular, has said it will not enter new contracts with Oklahoma growers if forced to comply with Frizzell’s final order. Drummond said Oklahoma growers in the watershed have received written notices of contract termination from poultry corporations since that order was filed December 12.

In the courtroom, an attorney for George’s said his client had been discussing this settlement with the state since before that order, and that breakthroughs started when the state began negotiating with individual defendants.

The entire group of corporations has been tasked with finding a path forward since early 2023. Drummond said they have been negotiating ceaselessly without success.

Next week, the court will hold a hearing for settlements with four more defendants: Cargill, Tyson, Cobb-Vantress and Peterson Farms. Simmons and Cal-Maine have not filed settlement agreements for court approval, although Simmons representatives sat with George’s legal team at last week’s hearing.

Frizzell has not yet issued a decision on whether to approve the settlement between George’s and Oklahoma.

This article was originally published by KOSU, and subsequently distributed by Oklahoma Voice (oklahomavoice.com), 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.