Judge rules state can’t seek monetary damages

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: July 23, 2009 in the Daily Oklahoman TULSA — Oklahoma can’t pursue monetary damages in its environmental lawsuit against a dozen Arkansas poultry companies because it didn’t name the Cherokee Nation as a plaintiff, a federal judge ruled Wednesday in a major blow to the state. Oklahoma had hoped to collect more than $611 million from companies it claims polluted the Illinois River watershed with bird waste. But the 1-million-acre river valley lies in an area set aside by the federal government for the Cherokee Nation, and Oklahoma doesn’t have the authority to seek damages on the nation’s behalf, U.S. District Court Judge Gregory K. Frizzell ruled.