BY ROBERT J. SMITH Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Posted on Thursday, February 23, 2006

Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson said taking poultry litter and water samples this spring will strengthen his case against Arkansas poultry companies.

Edmondson filed a motion Wednesday in federal court asking to obtain the samples from Oklahoma farms and streams before spring ends.

There are “imminent threats to human health,” Edmondson said, and that’s why the court should allow quick evidence collecting in Oklahoma’s federal lawsuit against eight poultry companies with operations in Arkansas.

Edmondson sued the eight companies in June, accusing them of allowing poultry litter to pollute the Illinois River watershed.

The companies Edmondson sued are Cargill Inc. of Minneapolis; Cobb-Vantress Inc. and Simmons Foods Inc., both of Siloam Springs; George’s Inc. of Springdale; Peterson Farms Inc. of Decatur; Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale; Willow Brook Foods of Springfield, Mo.; and Cal-Maine Foods Inc. of Jackson, Miss.

“The companies have great interest in delaying discovery until after the spring barn cleaning,” Edmondson said in a written statement. “Spring is the time of year when they clean out their barns and dump large amounts of waste on the fields.

“ Anyone who lives in Oklahoma knows this is also the season for thunderstorms and downpours.”

Poultry litter, a combination of wood chips or rice hulls and bird manure, is used to fertilize crops. In the spring, farmers typically spread litter from turkey and chicken houses on fields because it fuels hay growth.

In the federal court motion, Edmondson asked for permission to inspect farms and obtain samples of poultry litter, of soil upon which litter has been spread, of water that has runoff after rain, and of water that has flowed into the ground from pastures where litter has been spread.

Edmondson said such things as phosphorus, zinc, arsenic and bacteria from poultry litter are harming streams.

If Edmondson is successful in getting springtime water samples, rivers are likely to contain high phosphorus levels, said Marc Nelson, director of the Arkansas Water Resources Center water-quality laboratory.

In 2002, Oklahoma approved a limit of 0. 037 milligrams of phosphorus per liter of water in streams for six scenic rivers, including the Illinois River.

The river drains large sections of Benton and Washington counties before flowing into Oklahoma near Siloam Springs, and the river must meet the phosphorous limit as it crosses the state line.

“If they take samples during storm events, it’s going to be higher phosphorus, and there’s no way to get to 0. 037,” Nelson said.

Edmondson’s move in the federal court case filed in Tulsa came a day after the U. S. Supreme Court rejected Arkansas Attorney General Mike Beebe’s bid to get the high court’s help.

Beebe said the dispute was between states, and it warranted the high court’s attention. The court denied Beebe’s request on Tuesday.

Beebe’s office declined to answer questions Wednesday about Edmondson’s desire to get quicker samples.

“We’ll refrain from commenting on General Edmondson’s tactics,” said Matt DeCample, Beebe’s spokesman.

Janet Wilkerson, a Peterson Farms vice president and spokesman for some of the companies being sued by Edmondson, wouldn’t comment either.

Through spokesman Charlie Price, Edmondson declined to answer questions about his written statement.