Judge issues final judgment in Illinois River Poultry Pollution Lawsuit
Dec 19, 2025
By Curtis Killman
Tulsa World Reporter
Read more here: Tulsa World
A federal judge on Friday ordered an injunction limiting the use of poultry waste as fertilizer in the Illinois River watershed, issued $350,000 in penalties and
called for a special master to oversee a phased, 30-year cleanup of the eastern Oklahoma drainage basin.
U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell’s judgment ends a civil lawsuit brought by then Attorney General Drew Edmondson in 2005 against more than a dozen poultry
Companies operating in the Illinois River watershed, which straddles the Oklahoma-Arkansas border.
In his ruling, Frizzell reiterated his finding two years ago in favor of the state of Oklahoma and against the various poultry companies operating in the watershed over the years.
In 2023, Frizzell issued a report that found for the state on trespassing and public nuisance-related claims it leveled against the poultry companies.
In a press release issued after the judgment was released, Attorney General Gentner Drummond said the judgment “has significant ramifications for the industry."
Drummond used the judgment to press the poultry industry to negotiate some type of settlement.
“A robust poultry industry and clean water can and must coexist,” Drummond said. “I remain committed to working with the poultry companies toward a resolution.”
Drummond’s office said the poultry companies can appeal the judgment and face years of costly litigation or return to the negotiating table to work out some deal that addresses cleanup requirements while offering more flexibility and certainty.
It was unclear how a settlement would work in light of the judge calling for a special master to oversee the cleanup.
“First, remediation is necessary to mitigate the damage caused by defendants to the waters of the IRW by the land application of waste from defendants’ poultry,” Frizzell wrote, in his 33-page judgment.
The judge said a special master was needed to oversee the cleanup effort.
“A master must be appointed to oversee the investigation and planning of the remediation to be performed over this large watershed, to oversee and implement the ongoing remediation, to monitor compliance with the restrictions imposed by this judgment on the land application of defendants’ poultry waste and to monitor the progress of the remediation and the restrictions,” Frizzell wrote. The judgment calls for the poultry companies to be legally responsible for remedying the phosphorus pollution in the 1 million acre watershed.
The remediation will be in a phased approached, with the poultry companies to pay an initial $10 million into a fund to pay for the special master, a watershed monitoring team and costs associated with the cleanup effort.
The $10 million fund is to be replenished with an additional $5 million whenever the account balance dips below $5 million, according to the judgment.
Frizzell’s judgment also orders an injunction be placed immediately on the amount of poultry litter than can be spread as fertilizer on fields within the watershed.
“Remediation can only be achieved in this highly contested lawsuit by adoption of a mandatory injunction,” Frizzell said in his judgment.
Frizzell’s injunction also restricts the use of poultry waste on fields where soil testing indicate the phosphorus level is over 120 pounds per acre.
Drummond had sought a soil test phosphorus level restricting the use of poultry litter when readings were above 65 pounds per acre.
The judgment calls for penalties well short of the $100 million sought by Drummond’s office.
Frizzell issued penalties for the following poultry companies and their affiliates:
Tyson Foods Inc., 16 violations resulting in a penalty of $160,000
Simmons, nine violations, resulting in a penalty of $90,000
Cal-Maine, seven violations, resulting in a penalty of $70,000
Cargill Inc, six violations resulting in a penalty of $60,000
Cobb-Vantress, three violations resulting in a penalty of $30,000
George’s Inc, 1 violation, resulting in a penalty of $10,000
A spokesperson for The Poultry Federation, which represents the poultry and egg industry in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri, could not be reached for comment on the ruling.
curtis.killman@tulsaworld.com
By Curtis Killman
Tulsa World Reporter