Oklahomaâ€™s Attorney General asks court to allow sampling of litter and water

Thursday, February 23rd 2006, 10:31 am

By: News On 6

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson is asking a federal court for permission to take samples this spring of poultry litter and water on farms and streams in eastern Oklahoma for his lawsuit against eight Arkansas poultry companies.

Edmondson says the court should allow quick evidence collecting because the spring is when chicken farms clean their barns and dump large amounts of waste on fields. He says the waste creates "imminent threats to human health."

A lawsuit filed by Edmondson on behalf of Oklahoma claims Arkansas poultry companies are legally responsible for pollution of the Illinois River watershed.

The lawsuit argues that state and federal laws are being violated by improper poultry waste disposal practices.