Neighbors upset over Braum's pollution

Saturday, November 13th 2004, 10:51 am

By: News On 6

SHATTUCK, Okla. (AP)_ Environmental regulators have begun enforcement proceedings on a cattle operation for Braum's Ice Cream and Dairy Stores that has been accused of releasing pollution into a creek.

A group of Shattuck residents who are upset over the pollution discussed the situation in a meeting Thursday.

They plan to lobby Oklahoma lawmakers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to step up enforcement of pollution laws.

Braum's Follett Farm covers 20,000 acres in Texas' Lipscomb County and Ellis County in Oklahoma.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has begun enforcement proceedings against Braum's for the dumping of waste into Wolf Creek, which flows into Oklahoma.

Company spokesman Terry Holden said Braum's remains confident in the Follett operation and is waiting for an opportunity to meet with Texas regulators.

Monty Elder, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, said the state's environmental regulation falls under a number of state agencies, including the Agriculture Department, Oklahoma Water Resources Board and the Corporation Commission.