By Chad Previch
The Oklahoman

TULSA - A federal magistrate ruled Wednesday that soil and water samples in northeast Oklahoma can be taken as part of the state's lawsuit against the poultry industry.

But Magistrate Sam Joyner restricted Attorney General Drew Edmondson's request.

"We will be in the field as soon as possible," Edmondson said in a statement. "The corporate polluters have successfully delayed the sampling for a few months, but they cannot delay forever."

The collections were to begin May 5, but attorneys for poultry growers filed a motion to ban the testing.

Edmondson issued about two dozen subpoenas in April to collect samples. He said chicken litter applied as fertilizer by Oklahoma farmers working for Arkansas companies is polluting water.

The subpoenas required landowners, many of whom raise chickens for companies sued by the attorney general, to allow investigators to collect soil samples of rainfall runoff and groundwater.

Joyner ruled the sampling can occur but placed guidelines. He said a 72-hour notice must be given before sampling; samples must be given to the poultry companies for independent analysis; and poultry growers can take their own samples.

The judge also ruled that the state must adhere to strict biosecurity procedures, and if any land damage occurs from testing the state could be liable.

Keith Morgan, a grower in Kansas, OK, and president of Poultry Partners, said the ruling is a blow to property rights. He said farmers aren't breaking any law and a lawsuit could put farmers out of business.

"I just don't think anybody wants to depend on foreign countries for our food," Morgan said. "I mean, just look at what's happened to our gas prices."

Marla Peek, director of regulatory affairs for the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, said she's unsure whether another motion to ban the testing will be filed.

"We're just disappointed that the attorney general is going down this path," she said. "It would be our wish that cooler heads would prevail."

In June 2005, Edmondson sued 14 poultry companies he said were polluting state watersheds.