George's, Inc., has reached a settlement with the State of Oklahoma in its lawsuit over pollution in the Illinois River from bird waste.
This comes just weeks after a Federal Judge Gregory Frizzell issued a cleanup plan telling the poultry companies in the suit to maintain a fund for cleanup costs in the Illinois River Watershed for the next 30 years.
In a press release, Oklahoma Attorney General Genter Drummond praised George's for negotiating rather than continuing litigation, and hopes the other parties will follow.
"This settlement demonstrates that fair, good-faith negotiations can produce outcomes that serve everyone's interests—protecting Oklahoma's water resources while respecting the economic realities facing our agricultural partners," Drummond said in the release.
George's will pay $5 million to the state for remediation projects and attorney fees. The company will also help pay for a "special master" to oversee the cleanup effort.
Poultry litter is often used as fertilizer, but it can pollute watersheds when too much is applied in one area. Starting now, George's will only arrange for 40% of the poultry waste it produces to be applied to land in the Illinois River Watershed. Over the next seven years, the company will reduce that to 20%.
According to the agreement, George's won't shuffle poultry waste from the Illinois River Watershed to any other at-risk watershed in Oklahoma.
Other companies in the suit are still fighting the decision in court.
In recent months, Gov. Kevin Stitt has criticized the judge's cleanup plan, calling it harmful to Oklahoma poultry growers. But he expressed support for the settlement with George's, saying it should have happened sooner.
"This new settlement only helps one grower in Oklahoma, and my concern is for all Oklahoma growers," Stitt said in a statement. "Today I renew my call for Drummond to request a stay from Judge Frizzell to protect all growers and continue settlement discussions, bringing my Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of Environment to the table so that the State can be fully represented in protecting both domestic poultry supply and our natural resources."
The governor fired then-Secretary of Energy and Environment Ken McQueen for attending a hearing in the poultry lawsuit in 2024.
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.
