Armes, Cox Criticize Edmondson

Attorney General Drew Edmondson’s recent actions indicate he has wasted millions of taxpayer dollars on frivolous litigation, two lawmakers said today.

Reps. Don Armes and Doug Cox said Edmondson’s recent announcement that he was re-testing water wells in the Locust Grove area for bacteria show that Edmondson is “lacking evidence in support of his long-running lawsuit against the poultry industry and the use of poultry litter as a fertilizer on farmland.”

“After three years of litigation and reportedly spending $25 million on experts, Mister Edmondson has failed to come up with any evidence that poultry producers are violating state environmental regulations,” said Armes, a Faxon Republican who chairs the House Agriculture & Rural Development Committee. “He has not provided the court with any evidence that anyone’s health has been affected by the use of poultry litter on farmland in the Illinois River Watershed."

“I was disappointed that Attorney General Edmondson would make accusations based on apparent assumptions, rather than operating on the scientific evidence used by the Health Department investigators,” said Cox, a Grove Republican and medical doctor.

The two legislators noted that a federal court ruled last year that Edmondson had not proven that bacteria in the waters of the Illinois River Watershed are caused by the application of poultry litter rather than by other sources, including cattle manure and human septic tanks.

Now, only seven months before Edmondson’s case against the poultry industry is scheduled to go to trial, they noted Edmondson is suddenly claiming Oklahoma poultry farms have made people sick and even killed one person.

Edmondson recently announced his agency would test well water near Locust Grove, claiming it was contaminated with bacteria from chicken waste and led to the August death of Chad Ingle and the illnesses of more than 300 other people who ate at the Country Cottage Restaurant in Locust Grove.

However, the Oklahoma Department of Health had already tested those wells and ruled them out as the cause of the illness.

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Poultry Waste Control Measure Clears House

Poultry feeding operations, waste utilization businesses and nutrient management units would be legally required to adhere to the terms of a 2003 agreement between the City of Tulsa and the poultry industry under legislation approved by the House today.

House Bill 1490, by Rep. Dan Sullivan, (pictured) creates the Eucha-Spavinaw Nutrient Management Act. The bill incorporates the provisions of the state's settlement agreement (between the poultry industry and the City of Tulsa) into state law.

"I believe we can have clean water in Northeastern Oklahoma and have a thriving poultry industry at the same time," said Sullivan, R-Tulsa. "The work that has been put into this bill demonstrates that two groups with widely divergent views can come together and develop a workable solution that meets the needs of all concerned."

The bill would prevent the City of Tulsa from having to undergo any additional legal expenses to enforce the settlement agreement. If violations do occur, the law would provide the city injunctive relief to stop the problem until a determination has been made as to the nature or extent of the violation.

The legislation also makes the settlement agreement apply to any individuals or businesses that move into the watershed who were not parties to the original agreement. The city filed a lawsuit in December 2001 claiming the poultry defendants were responsible for 170 million pounds of phosphorus and nitrogen-rich chicken waste that goes into the city watershed each year through creeks and streams that flow into Lake Eucha, which in turn feeds Lake Spavinaw.

Lake Spavinaw is one of two drinking water sources for Tulsa; the other is Lake Oologah. The sides agreed to settle the case on the day the trial was scheduled to begin.

The agreement requires those businesses to implement a nutrient management plan for reducing poultry litter accumulating in Oklahoma watersheds. The poultry defendants and their growers cannot apply poultry litter to land in the watershed until they receive their nutrient management plans.

The settlement called for a phosphorus-risk index to govern the conditions under which animal waste or fertilizer may be applied to land in the watershed. The Eucha-Spavinaw Phosphorus Index (ESPI) was developed by a team from Oklahoma State University and the University of Arkansas and adopted by the court in February 2004.

House Bill 1490 passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives on a 98-1 vote on Thursday. The bill now proceeds to the state Senate for consideration.

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World: Edmondson Says Burrage Has Conflict, Democratic Party Chair Agrees, Says Senator Should Abstain From Vote On Waste Bill

UPDATE: Democratic Party Chair Lisa Pryor added her criticism of Burrage in a post on the party's official website over the weekend. She wrote, "I was incensed when a State Senate Committee this week passed a measure that declared that animal waste is not hazardous. (Thank you Senator Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah, for voting no on the measure.) Let's hope SB 709 gets the boot in front of the full Senate. Let's make sure that anyone who personally benefits from or directly represents the poultry producers does the right thing and abstains from this vote on the floor. (Read about SB 709 here. )" Attorney General Drew Edmondson says that Claremore Senator Sean Burrage had a conflict of interest in voting for a bill declaring that animal waste is not hazardous.

Edmondson and Burrage are Democrats.

Newly-elected Burrage is a member of Taylor and Burrage, a Claremore law firm with Tyson Foods Inc. as a current and former client. Former Senate President Pro Tem Stratton Taylor, D-Claremore, is also a member of the firm. The Tulsa World has the full story. Burrage thus far has had little comment on the growing ethics controversy over his committee vote, nor has Senate President Co-Pro Tem Mike Morgan expressed an opinion. Burrage did say he "feels fine" about his vote even though it apparently is in violation of the Oklahoma Constitution in Edmondson's belief. It's the first time in memory that a top Democrat and the Democratic Party's chair have joined in criticising a fellow Democrat.

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