More than 30 months have passed, and U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell has yet to render an opinion in the state of Oklahoma’s poultry industry pollution lawsuit. The state of Oklahoma claimed overuse of poultry litter as crop fertilizer had caused water pollution in the Illinois River watershed.
Former Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson filed the lawsuit June 13, 2005, against 14 poultry companies, alleging the poultry industry was responsible for deteriorating water quality of the Illinois River and its tributaries. In September 2009, more than 1,500 days after being filed, the case went to a bench trial before Judge Frizzell. The judge presided over the 52-day bench trial, which spread out over a 148-day period, and finally concluded in February 2010, when the parties rested their cases.
Edmondson, who filed the lawsuit, left office earlier this year after giving up his post to make an unsuccessful run for governor.
