Lawmakers criticize AG’s actions

OKLAHOMA CITY – Attorney General Drew Edmondson’s recent actions indicate he has wasted millions of taxpayer dollars on frivolous litigation, a pair of state lawmakers said today.

State 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.

In a Feb. 15 article, Linda Moore, the owner of the Locust Grove restaurant, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette the restaurant relied on city water and not the well water being tested by Edmondson.

“The experts Edmondson’s staff members used in their ‘investigation’ are the same litigation experts who were recently discredited in federal court proceedings,” Cox said. “The Attorney General's speculation that poultry litter caused the outbreak is simply inappropriate given the complete lack of evidence.  It’s also unfair to the real Health Department experts who have been investigating this unfortunate outbreak, the poultry farmers who are abiding by state environmental regulations and especially the people who became ill or lost a family member.”

Armes said Edmondson’s grandstanding needs to end.

“The Attorney General’s job is to enforce the laws,” Armes said. “He should leave the regulation of agriculture and public health to the experts. While it appears our Attorney General does not want the poultry industry to operate in Oklahoma and contribute jobs to our economy, others in state government appreciate the contributions of these hard working men and women.”

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