Oklahoma farmers and ranchers are concerned the state’s Attorney General is expanding his strategy against the poultry industry to include all animal agriculture. The Attorney General has filed a Notice of Intent to sue (NOI) selected poultry companies using the citizen suit provisions of the federal Solid Waste Disposal Act.
“The Attorney General is now calling poultry litter hazardous waste,” said Steve Kouplen, president of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau. “The EPA classifies poultry litter as an organic fertilizer, the same tag they put on other livestock manure. This is not a hazardous waste.”
The NOI filing calls for poultry companies to: 1) immediately cease all poultry litter application; 2) assess the damage to the waters of the state; 3) develop and implement a plan for comprehensive remediation; and 4) reimburse the state for past and future response costs, attorney’s fees and costs. The filing requires the poultry industry to comply with the Attorney General’s demands within 90 days or the issue is taken to the federal courts.
The Beggs rancher said the NOI filing is bad for agriculture because it places an incorrect, negative image in the public’s mind.
“Poultry growers are not producing a hazardous waste product,” Kouplen said. “They, like all farmers, work hard to supply us with safe, affordable and abundant food.”
Oklahoma Farm Bureau, in support of the poultry growers, has been asking the Attorney General to negotiate a workable settlement between the poultry companies, growers and the state. Kouplen said it appears the AG has given up on negotiations.
“During recent meetings with the Attorney General, he said in his mind the poultry growers are breaking the law and there was nothing we could do to change his opinion,” Kouplen said. “Farmers are following their prescribed conservation and nutrient management plans as required by state law. They are not breaking the law.”
Kouplen said Farm Bureau is working on positive solutions to nutrient management. The farm group has proposed programs to move the litter out of the watersheds for use as fertilizer on central and western Oklahoma fields. They also support using poultry litter as an energy source for the power plant under construction in Deleware County.
