For nineteen years, the state of Oklahoma and eleven poultry producers have duked it out in federal court over whether the companies are to blame for degrading water quality in the Illinois River.
In January, 2023, Judge Gregory Frizzell ruled in favor of the state. He found the defendants were responsible for pollution of the Illinois River watershed. Since then, the eleven companies asked the judge to consider what they describe as new evidence.
The poultry producers argued the evidence from the original 2009 trial wasn’t reflective of the current watershed conditions.
In response, Judge Frizzell scheduled Tuesday’s hearing.
In court, yesterday, the question at hand was has the water quality of the Illinois River watershed improved or has it worsened in the last 15 years?
The former Director of the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission, Ed Fite, spent the day on the stand.
Fite said that in many ways since 2009 water quality has either gotten worse or, at best, stayed the same. Fite described much of the Illinois River as “opaque”, meaning not visible to see through. Fite also described more “noticeable algae growth at the bottom of the river”.
The growth is generally a sign of high phosphorus levels which degrades water quality.
Fite expressed concern about not having a definitive number of tons of poultry waste removed by truck from the watershed. Fite said he had seen figures ranging from “129,000 to 800,000 tons removed.”
Poultry waste is generally used by farmers as a fertilizer for the soil. This increases nitrogen in the soil for farmers. Nitrogen helps plants grow and make it easier for them to absorb nutrients.
The problem with poultry waste comes when it floods, decreases water quality. Fite mentioned three specific flood events in 2015, 2017 and 2022 where this happened.
During Fite’s cross examination defense lawyers argued that the population increase in Northwest Arkansas could be increasing phosphorus levels. The source of the Illinois River is in Northwest Arkansas.
The defense brought into evidence multiple articles where Fite was quoted as saying that water quality had improved in the river. In 2016 Fite was quoted in the Oklahoma Farm Report as saying, “I think the river has made the turn for the better.”
In court, Fite pointed out water quality can change over time.
Fite said at the hearing that he was not trying to assess blame, but “the water is not what it was.”
