USA - Meeting To Avoid Poultry Litter Lawsuit 'Productive'

Talks in Tulsa designed to avoid a possible water quality lawsuit between Oklahoma and six Arkansas poultry companies were described as "productive" in a joint statement released Thursday. No details of a possible deal were released, but both sides said they will meet again today and continue talking in the coming weeks. Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson and Peterson Farms, Cargill, George's, Tyson Foods, O.K. Foods and Simmons Foods issued the following joint statement: "Today's meetings were productive. While we reached no formal resolution of the issues, we have made positive progress toward identifying areas on which to work. We will continue tomorrow and schedule further meetings over the next several weeks." In September, Edmondson said his office had retained outside counsel to prepare a lawsuit to be filed against poultry companies for harming water quality in Oklahoma streams that begin in Arkansas, including the Illinois River. Edmondson said at the time any settlement short of litigation must involve the poultry companies paying monetary damages and taking ownership responsibility for excess poultry litter. The litter -- spread on pastures -- contains nutrients, including phosphorus, that stormwater can wash into streams. High levels of phosphorus cause excessive algae blooms, turning water green and affecting water quality. Poultry companies have agreed to a number of steps to reduce the impact of land-applied poultry litter on streams, but have resisted Edmondson's prior calls to pay monetary damages. Others not involved in the talks considered the statement a good sign. "The Federation is pleased that the talks were considered productive and look forward to further discussion with the hopes of additional progress being made," said Morril Harriman, executive director of the Little Rock-based Poultry Federation. "It sounds like today wasn't the end of it, so that's always a positive sign," said J.D. Strong, spokesman for the Oklahoma Secretary of Environment.