Today’s update in the case between the state of Oklahoma and eleven poultry companies over alleged pollution of the Illinois River watershed, comes to us from Omer Gillham of the Tulsa World.Gillham reports that Tuesday the case focused on e-mails and deleted e-mails between “state experts questioning the accuracy of elevated levels of phosphorous in Lake Tenkiller.” During cross examination of Dennis Cooke, a limnologist the state called to testify, attorneys for the poultry companies produced other emails to Cooke in which Jack Jones, Ph.D. questioned the chemical levels found in Lake Tenkiller and their accuracy. In an interesting twist, Cooke was warned in a December, 2007 email by David Page, an attorney for the state, about “discussing such details in e-mails [.]”
According to records, Cooke went on to say he would delete e-mails showing differences in data. Cooke explained this more under redirect examination, ‘"This is the normal vetting process of data and ideas being discussed among scientists . . . These comments were made during the final preparation of our report. No essential data was deleted. I did delete material that was outdated or inaccurate. This is a common process.”’
For the uninitiated, the state is claiming that runoff from poultry litter that was spread on farms near poultry houses as a cheap source of fertilizer is the culprit behind the pollution of the watershed. The state maintains that since the farmers spreading the fertilizer are contract growers for the companies, then the companies are responsible for the waste and what happens to it—such as runoff that would pollute a watershed with high levels of phosphorous that the state claims is harmful to human health and is in violation of federal environmental law. The companies claim the waste is not solely responsible for pollution in the watershed, and even if it was, the waste disposal is the responsibility of the growers not the companies that hire them.
The case is being heard in a non-jury trial by US District Judge Gregory Frizell, and it has been ongoing in some form since 2005, but the trial did not start until this past September. The state hopes to finish its presentation today. If Judge Frizzell turns down “anticipated motions by the defense to have the case dismissed,” then the defense will be able to start their presentation later this week.
To read the Tulsa World article on the latest news in this case, click here.
Posted: 12/09/09
