It's the latest move in Oklahoma's 21-year-old lawsuit against poultry companies for polluting the Illinois River Watershed with bird waste
In 2023, Oklahoma Northern District Judge Gregory Frizzell ruled the companies did pollute the waterway with poultry waste and needed to make an agreement with the state to clean it up.
After years of negotiation with no agreement, Frizzell issued an order calling for a decade-long cleanup and no cap on how much money the companies would have to pay throughout the process.
The poultry companies quickly filed appeals to fight that order.
They also agreed to stop appealing and comply with a shorter, $32 million-dollar cleanup plan if Frizzell would toss out his more stringent order. He rejected the settlements, saying the companies should have cooperated during earlier negotiations rather than hoping for a more favorable order.
The companies and the state filed appeals on the rejection, leaving the case in the hands of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Since then, all the poultry companies have agreed to a new $44 million private settlement with the state, which would take effect if Frizzell's order is vacated. It addresses some of the judge's concerns with the earlier consent agreements, upping the companies' pay-in and implementing a single oversight system.
"All parties came to the table to find a solution to protect Oklahoma's water and to provide certainty for our poultry industry," Drummond said in a press release. "The result is a balanced solution that protects our natural resources and supports one of Oklahoma's most important industries."
In light of the new settlement, Drummond asked the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals not to issue a judgement on the appeals and instead to vacate Frizzell's order.
The 10th Circuit says it will not toss out the order. But it also won't rule on the appeals for now. It's up to Frizzell whether to take back his order so the settlement can take effect. If not, appeals can proceed, and the state is allowed to ask again for the appeals court to vacate the ruling.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
