The eleven poultry companies won a major victory yesterday in federal court when Judge Frizzell throw out Oklahoma’s Resource Conservation and Recovery Act claims. To view the Tulsa World article by Omer Gillham, click here. Although the judge had earlier ruled poultry litter could be considered a solid waste under the federal environmental law. To view this blog post, click here.
According to Gillham’s article, “[t]he defense team argued that the state had not proven its case of phosphorus pollution nor its possible causes if such pollution existed. In response to a defense motion, Frizzell ruled against one of the state's claims, that poultry litter is solid waste as defined by the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The law governs the handling of solid waste and hazardous waste.”
Oklahoma’s Attorney General Drew Edmondson was quick to respond saying the decision was “a serious matter.” Gillham’s article is quoted him as saying “‘It's been two good days for the polluters and two bad days for the watershed,’ said Edmondson, who attended the trial Tuesday.” Edmondson did say Oklahoma would appeal the ruling.
The judge did rule to allow state law claims of trespass to proceed. This means “that the state's case will remains alive if it can convince the judge that the poultry industry is at fault for increased amounts of phosphorus that allegedly causes harm to the Illinois River watershed and its waterways.”
The trial is continuing today with Oklahoma’s responses to various motions filed by the defense.
Posted: 12/16/09
