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Chicken litter polluting oklahoma waterways with phosphorus Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2005/05/21/news/fayetteville/01fzwatertesting.txt http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2005/05/21/news/fayetteville/01fzwatertesting.txt Phosphorus Talks To Resume By Dan Craft The Morning News FAYETTEVILLE -- A new round of negotiation between poultry companies and the Oklahoma attorney general about water quality will begin June 7. Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson claims that chicken litter from Northwest Arkansas is polluting Oklahoma waterways by increasing phosphorus levels in the water, and has threatened to sue Northwest Arkansas poultry companies in federal court. Negotiating may resolve the dispute without the need for litigation, said Charlie Price, a spokesman for Edmondson's office. Calls to poultry companies were referred to Janet Wilkerson of Peterson Farms, who has acted as a spokeswoman for the companies. Wilkerson did not return calls left Friday at her office. Morrill Harriman, a representative of the Arkansas Poultry Federation, also did not return messages left Friday on his office and cell phones. The issue of water quality was raised anew earlier this week when three mobile monitoring stations were found in Washington County. A total of eight monitors were placed in Northwest Arkansas by a contractor working for Edmondson's office to gather information pertaining to the possible lawsuit, Price said. "We're still hopeful that we won't have to file any litigation, but the monitoring is part of our preparation for a possible lawsuit," Price said. "We're looking into all sources of pollution." The monitors upset Washington County Judge Jerry Hunton. "They came over here and did this without asking anyone," Hunton said. "They're trying to hype up this deal, trying to convince people that phosphorus is some sort of dangerous chemical. It's just not." In addition to his job as county judge, Hunton also grows chickens at his farm near Cane Hill in the Illinois River watershed. Edmondson's office filed a notice of intent March 9 to sue six poultry companies that operate in Northwest Arkansas. Edmondson has said he will seek monetary damages for past pollution and a change in the way poultry litter is handled in the future. A group of poultry companies -- including Tyson Foods, Peterson Farms, Simmons Foods, and George's Inc. -- then sent notices to more than 130 companies in eastern Oklahoma that utilize commercial fertilizer that they might also be liable in a lawsuit. Edmondson's office does not plan litigation against anyone except the poultry companies, a spokesman said last month. Negotiation between the parties last December ended without a resolution. The upcoming round of talks, scheduled June 7-9 in Tulsa, Okla., will be mediated by Judge Thomas Brett, a retired federal district judge from northern Oklahoma. The announcement was posted Friday afternoon on Edmondson's Web site. The litter created in chicken houses is commonly used as fertilizer on pastures and fields. Poultry farms in Northwest Arkansas, southeast Missouri and northeast Oklahoma produce about 60,000 tons of litter annually, according to an industry estimate. Much of Northwest Arkansas drains into the Illinois River watershed. The river then flows into Oklahoma. This is not the first time Northwest Arkansas poultry companies have faced questions about phosphorus levels across state lines. The companies agreed to a $7.5 million out-of-court settlement with the city of Tulsa in 2001 over allegations that phosphorus levels were fouling lakes in Oklahoma that serve as Tulsa's supply of drinking water. The Tulsa settlement led to the establishment of a pact between Arkansas and Oklahoma to set water-quality standards between the two states. Poultry companies protested Oklahoma's phosphorus standard of 0.37 milligrams per liter, calling it unreachable. Chicken farmers, claiming they had been left out of negotiations between Tulsa and the poultry companies, formed Poultry Partners Inc., in the hope of gaining a voice in future talks. It was not immediately clear Friday whether Poultry Partners would be a party to the June negotiation. The negotiating will be done in closed-door sessions, and all parties have signed confidentiality agreements, Price said.

madcow 739 000 pounds beef recalled 99 get salmonella st louis hospital { July 1 2003 } Abused cows cause largest beef recall { March 12 2008 } Al gore hurts environment with his diet Avian flu found in maryland chicken farm { March 7 2004 } Awareness of meat environmental damage increases { April 16 2008 } Baseball player disgusted by factory farms Beef made from cattle too sick to stand { February 2008 } Bird flu spreading un warns { January 24 2004 } Burrito chain attacks pharmaceutical meat additives [jpg] Burrito chain attacks pharmaceutical meat additives { May 20 2007 } Callaway [pdf] Chicken farms ruin oklahoma lakes and streams Chicken litter polluting oklahoma waterways with phosphorus Chicken virus surfaced texas { April 8 2003 } Chickens in rice sacks buried alive in shallow pits Cloned farm animals to provide meat and milk { June 22 2005 } Cows called major california polluters Cows pass cars as polluters in san joaquin valley { August 2 2005 } E coli recall Ecoli cows need fiber { June 6 2001 } Farm salmon high in pcbs Fastfood chain attempts to acquire free range animals { March 28 2007 } Fda approves cloned animals for eating { December 2008 } Fda approves eating clones Fda expecting to allow milk and meat from cloned animals { October 6 2005 } Fish farms are fed chicken dung Ground beef recalled after 2 coloradans sickened { August 5 2003 } Guzzling meat destroying environment { January 27 2008 } Hay fight ecoli { September 19 1998 } Hormones given to cows effect women through milk { May 20 2006 } Kidnapped girl compares herself to caged chickens Livestock are devouring our food supply { June 17 2008 } Meat industry damages planet more than cars { December 10 2006 } Meat industry hurting planet and body Meat industry violates human rights { January 26 2005 } Meat packing plants raided for illegal workers Ohio slaughterhouse tortures its cows { January 31 2008 } Outbreak { April 9 2001 } Pig farming concerns Pork farm products contained human remains Poultry disease { January 16 2003 } Quarantines 5mil chickens avian flu Sales of cloned cattle multiply They die piece by piece { April 10 2001 } US beef unwanted over seas { June 12 2008 } Whats in our cows { January 11 2004 } Files Listed: 47

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