In 1950 poultry companies in the Illinois River watershed produced 12 million birds. In 2002 the number was roughly 152 million. This according to J. Berton Fisher’s testimony on October 9, 2009, in the lawsuit between the state of Oklahoma and eleven poultry companies with operations in the Illinois River watershed.Fisher was testifying as an expert for the state. Oklahoma brought the suit, alleging the eleven companies violated federal and state law and threatened human health by using the bird litter as a cheap fertilizer on nearby fields, which the state claims then entered the watershed via runoff. Justin Juozapavicius of the Associated Press writes in Forbes online, that Fisher explained how the environmental conditions of the area make runoff a problem. Fisher cited the thin soils and rocky, porous terrain “allowed contaminants to seep into streams and groundwater.”
As the AP reports, the case is in many ways a test case as other states are watching the proceedings closely in consideration of bringing their own suits against poultry companies for similar practices. “Earlier Thursday, attorneys for the poultry companies accused Oklahoma of trying to introduce new research done by Fisher.”
Fisher was allowed to testify after Oklahoma attorney David Page assured U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell no new analysis would be presented.
To read the AP article on Forbes online click here.
Posted: 10/12/09
