The lawsuit over alleged pollution of the Illinois River watershed that pits the state of Oklahoma against eleven poultry companies with operations in the watershed is coming closer to an end as the defense rested its presentation of the case on Wednesday, according to Curtis Killman of the Tulsa World online.Before resting, Killman reports that the defense did call two more experts to counter previous testimony on behalf of the state that dealt with the water quality of the watershed. As Killman reports, one expert, Michael J. McGuire, a water-quality consultant, argued that the water in Lake Tenkiller, which is within the watershed, had lower levels of “harmful chemicals associated with treated water . . . than those he reviewed at the state and national levels.” Additionally, the “harmful level of byproducts” were lower in the Illinois River watershed than in other places around the state where treatment plants are located.
Though state attorneys objected to the testimony of relevance grounds, US District Judge Gregory Frizzell, who is hearing the non-jury trial, stated that the evidence couldn’t be viewed in “a vacuum and that one had to take into account the ‘natural condition’ of the Illinois River watershed.”
McGuire said that the water from Lake Tenkiller, used by 18 water plants that get their drinking water from the lake, are ‘“very good sources”’ of drinking water. Any problems to the water, McGuire associated as being linked to faulty sanitation systems rather than being a result of the raw water itself. Essentially, McGuire was saying that any problems with the water should be attributed to how they are treated, and not to any runoff of poultry litter being used as a fertilizer on nearby fields, as the state contends.
In addition to McGuire, former US Environmental Protection Agency scientist and now health-risk assessment consultant Herman Gibb “downplayed the health risks associated with Lake Tenkiller water.”
The defense has been quite active in their presentations of late in the case that has been ongoing in some form since 2005. Last week the defense went three-dimensional and gave those in the court 3-D glasses to watch the defense presentation of stereoscopic aerial photos of the Illinois River in Oklahoma to show poultry industry practices have not damaged the Illinois River watershed.
According to Killman’s reporting of the presentation, geologist Wayne Grip conducted a study for the poultry industry on the thickness of eroded river banks. Grip said he “found that the Illinois River was an ‘actively meandering body.”’ As a result of the meandering, Grip testified that he estimates that since 1972 roughly 861,000 dump-truck loads of sediment and other material have eroded from the banks into the river.
The poultry industry has argued as part of its defense that the phosphorous levels found in the watershed came from natural erosion along the river, rather than from poultry waste, as the state maintains. Grip also testified that 39 percent of the area in question has seen development between 1982 and 2006.
Previously this week, Oklahoma State University economist Mike Dicks testified for the defense that roughly all the poultry litter produced in the watershed could be safely used in the area as a fertilizer for crops if the litter is applied evenly on all available pasture and crop lands. Poultry industry witnesses have testified that 295, 114 tons of poultry litter is produced in the watershed yearly. The state contends that this number is really 354,000 tons.
When questioned about the state’s number by Judge Frizzell, “Dicks said his economic model indicated that about 81 percent of the litter produced under the state’s assumptions could be safely used if it were spread evenly in the watershed, leaving 19 percent to be hauled away.”
Also in his testimony, Dicks noted that about 500 jobs and $34 million in economic impact would be lost if farmers could not use the poultry litter for fertilizer and had to rely on more expensive chemical fertilizers to grow hay and forage. Additionally, Dicks testified that “nearly 1,200 jobs and $88 million in economic impact would be lost in the watershed if farmers had to quit using poultry litter there and did not buy any chemical fertilizers.” It is also estimated that over 55,000 people work for the poultry industry in the Illinois River watershed.
During cross-examination Dicks told the state that his economic analysis did not take into account the potential impact of adding high levels of phosphorous to the watershed. Monday also saw defense scientist Tim Sullivan testify that the phosphorous levels in the Illinois River and Lake Tenkiller were not “exceptionally high” when they are compared with other bodies of water in Oklahoma and elsewhere in the country. Sullivan noted that some rivers in central Oklahoma contain greater concentrations of phosphorous than in the Illinois River.
Today’s courtroom action will likely involve the two sides arguing over whether the state should be allowed to call rebuttal witnesses.
To read Killman’s article on the defense water experts click here.
To read the Killman article on the 3-D presentation click here.
To read the Killman article on Mike Dicks testimony click here.
Posted: 01/14/10
