Oklahoma tests on river show low levels of harmful bacteria

Oklahoma tests on river show
low levels of harmful bacteria

BY ROBERT J. SMITH

Samples pulled from the Illinois River on May 21 by the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission showed low levels of fecal matter in the water.

The samples taken at six sites on the Illinois River and at two tributaries showed low levels of enterococci and Escherichia coli, known as E. coli.

Such samplings will take place each Sunday and Wednesday this summer as a way to determine the necessity to protect those who recreate in the river, said Ed Fite, director of the scenic rivers commission.

The commission will spend about $ 6, 000 on sampling this summer and use the results to determine whether advisories should be issued to warn the public about bacteria.

The tests aren’t connected to the federal lawsuit filed by Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson against eight Arkansas poultry companies, Fite said. Edmondson alleges in U. S. District Court in Tulsa that fecal bacteria in poultry litter threatens human health in the Illinois River watershed.

Oklahoma believes poultry farmers are responsible for the bacteria in the river that causes diarrhea and other illnesses.

“This may overlap with the lawsuit, but it’s not intended to fuel the lawsuit,” Fite said. “It’s intended to show what the river is like when people are using the river.” The low levels of the two types of fecal bacteria were discussed cautiously by officials in Edmondson’s office who didn’t want to make too much of the samples.

Edmondson, during a nineday hearing that ended in March, asked a federal judge to ban poultry litter spreading in the watershed.

“The bacteria levels in the river change from day to day depending on the flow and recent rains,” said Charlie Price, an Edmondson spokesman. “During the motion hearing, we presented a history of U. S. Geological Survey samples that proved high levels of dangerous bacteria in the water.

“ If the tests are accurate, it’s good news for that day and location,” he said. “We are pleased the regulatory agencies have taken the testimony of our experts to heart and will be testing the river twice weekly.” But a poultry company spokesman on Wednesday used the samples to rebut the information presented by Edmondson during the hearing.

“The reports of these sampling results appear to be consistent with the evidence that we presented to the court at the preliminary injunction hearing which showed that Mr. Edmondson’s claims of unsafe bacteria levels in the Illinois River are unfounded exaggerations,” said Jackie Cunningham, a spokesman for the Poultry Community Council, an Oklahoma organization created by the poultry companies in the lawsuit to educate the public about the poultry industry.

Gerald Hilsher, a scenic rivers commissioner, was reluctant to make too much of the first samples.

“We need a few weeks of sampling before we should be making any suggestion of what this means,” Hilsher said.

Fite on Wednesday wasn’t about to get drawn into a conversation about what the first results mean, either.

“I’m going to be the only person pulling the samples for the most part,” Fite said. “I want to make sure it’s done right and done consistently.”

State water quality solutions under attack

State water quality solutions under attack
By Rick Stubblefield
Guest Columnist

A federal court is now being asked to ban the use of poultry litter as a fertilizer in the Illinois River watershed. A request that has little bearing on reality.

Poultry litter today is almost unavailable in the Illinois River watershed. Ask a farmer.

The demand for poultry litter as a fertilizer has soared, partly because the state has heavily promoted its use as a fertilizer across the entire state and partly because rising oil prices have made the cost of commercial fertilizers breath-taking.

Second, there is just not enough poultry litter being produced to satisfy demand. Despite the exaggerated claims of state Attorney General Drew Edmondson, a chicken house only produces about 120 tons of poultry litter a year — and state agency records and assessor records show there are about 1,650 poultry houses in the Illinois River watershed. That gives the farming community about 200,000 total tons of poultry litter to use every year. Farmers outside the watershed use manure-transfer-program tax breaks to pay more than farmers in the watershed can afford to pay.

The end result? There is not much left to use as fertilizer on fields in the Illinois River watershed.

Oklahoma Secretary of the Environment Miles Tolbert claims Edmondson was instrumental in helping get the Statement of Joint Principles signed between Arkansas and Oklahoma in December 2003.

A major part of that agreement was to seek grants to pay for manure transfer programs — programs that began the process of making poultry litter valued as a fertilizer in areas that are not nutrient-threatened.

So in the midst of what should be considered an environmental victory, Edmondson suddenly pretends to ride to the rescue, to resolve an issue he may have actually helped resolve years ago.

The manure transfer program for the Illinois River watershed has worked far better than anyone could have hoped.

But not everyone is smiling. Especially not the trial lawyers who anticipated major money in the state’s 2005 lawsuit against poultry companies — a lawsuit filed long after the manure transfer program began.

So now we witness Edmondson’s panic — asking the court to declare poultry litter a solid waste and ban its use in the Illinois River watershed.

While the issue is seriously argued in court, in the Illinois River watershed farming community, it is a joke.

Except those who are serious about using the manure transfer programs to protect nutrient-threatened watersheds aren’t laughing. The labeling of manure — any manure —as a solid waste could threaten the viability of programs from Maryland to Oklahoma.

Those who think Edmondson is an environmental savior should take a second look at his actions — designed not to protect the Illinois River watershed or Oklahoma water quality, but to protect the wallets of the contingent-fee attorneys whose political donations protect the quality of the stream Edmondson cares the most about — the revenue stream.

Rick Stubblefield is the Adair County representative on the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission.

Oklahoma lawsuit has Arkansas chicken farmers registering flock

Oklahoma lawsuit has
Arkansas chicken farmers registering flock
2/11/2008

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Arkansas is counting its chickens and tracking chicken litter in response to an Oklahoma lawsuit that accuses several poultry companies of polluting the Illinois River watershed.

The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission and county conservation districts compile data for the statewide poultry registry. All chicken farmers with at least 2,500 confined birds are required to register their birds each year.

The effort began in 2004 after Oklahoma officials questioned Arkansas environmental workers about chicken litter removal methods.

"We didn't have any data at that point about disposal," said Patrick Fisk of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission.

The following year, Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson sued 14 Arkansas-based poultry companies. Edmondson alleged the chicken litter was polluting the Illinois River watershed, and he asked the court to stop the application of litter on land in the region. The case is pending in federal court.

The Arkansas registry keeps track of the type and number of poultry produced in the state. It also documents how chicken litter is disposed of in Arkansas.

Gene Pharr, chairman of the county's conservation district, owns five chicken houses near Lincoln. He said the registry shows the litter is being exported rather than leaching into the region's water supply.

"Registering is not something people want to do, but it basically gives the state some idea of how much litter is being used," Pharr said.

Washington County Judge Jerry Hunton is a poultry farmer and president of Poultry Partners, a defendant in the federal lawsuit. He maintains eight chicken houses. Hunton said registering his chickens has become part of doing business.

"Now you've got to account for every pound of chicken litter," he said. "You've got to be half-lawyer, half-tax accountant."

This year, registration began Jan. 1 and continues until March 31. The first failing-to-register offense is punishable by a written notice. The second can lead to a fine of $50 and the third offense can result in a fine of $500.

Oklahoma water wars

Oklahoma water wars
By Trent Loos

For as long as I have attempted to be an advocate for American agriculture, I have struggled to understand why most don't appreciate the economic impact that agricultural operations have in rural communities. The standard multiplier, to the best of my knowledge, continues to be seven times. For every dollar generated by the local farming operation, it turns over seven times in the community. The Iowa Development Authority tells me that every dairy cow in a county has a $7,000 economic impact on that community.

As we really gear up to hit 2008 rolling, I have committed to do everything possible to explain to non-farm folks the benefits of farming. I understand that people are quick to shun the economic advantages, if they think a pig farm will stink; but let's face the fact that the migration of young people out of rural America will only turn around if we start telling it like it really is. The bottom line is that new money and new opportunities are vital to sustaining rural America.

Most of this really hit me two weeks ago when Dr. John Lawrence, Iowa State University Professor of Ag Economics, joined me on my Rural Route radio program. He stated that ethanol production has generated more "new" money and opportunities than anything to come along in our rural communities for a long time. He stated that a 50 million gallon ethanol plant will consume 15.1 million bushels of corn, providing 35 direct jobs and 98 indirect for a total of 133 total regional jobs.

Compare that to a beef feedlot that consumes the same amount of corn annually and feeds 250,000 cattle. This entity provides 140 direct jobs. For a farrow to finish swine operation to feed that much corn, they will need 75,000 sows and directly employ nearly 400 people. So while ethanol plants are good for sustaining rural communities, look at the economic impact of other industries that could use the same amount of corn by feeding it to livestock.

I suggest that it is high time we start sharing the economic incentive of livestock agriculture with our county and state government officials and our fellow residents. Take, for example, the complete ignorance of the benefit of the poultry business to the economy of Oklahoma. The poultry industry directly employs 12,000 residents of Oklahoma and generates $453 million in farm receipts, resulting in over $3 billion going into the Oklahoma economy. All of this seems to pale in comparison, in the eyes of some government officials, to the importance of floating on the Illinois River in Oklahoma, which generates a mere $9 million annually in direct economic benefits.

You see, in 2005 Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson sued 14 Arkansas-based poultry companies for polluting the Illinois River watershed with chicken litter. Edmondson, instead of doing his real job of prosecuting criminals in the state of Oklahoma, has attempted to create a windfall in state earnings by targeting poultry companies owned by out-of-state entities. He can't file any criminal charges against contract producers in his state because the chicken farmers have followed the application laws set forth by the state of Oklahoma. A better question might be, why doesn't the Attorney General fulfill his actual duties and start locking up some real criminals?

A quick search of criminal drug use in eastern Oklahoma shows us that prosecutors can't get their cases processed because of pile-ups in the courts and in the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation's (OSBI's) state crime labs, a situation the Tulsa World called "an incredible expanding black hole of backlogged cases."

OSBI's Tahlequah crime lab, which serves eastern Oklahoma, has more than 1,200 methamphetamine cases pending. In rural Adair County alone, the number of backlogged drug cases includes two from 1997, five from 1998, 44 from 1999, and 53 from 2000. In 2004, 168 were arrested in one district and that number was up to 299 in 2006. The District 27 Task Force deserves some credit for the morass; its members made 577 drug arrests in 1999, more than 350 of them for methamphetamine offenses.

Now guess what. All of the above meth lab busts took place in the Illinois River watershed. These criminals are handling phosphorus to make their product. Am I to believe that drug cooks are so careful that they can ensure that their waste materials and ingredients never enter the watershed? As preposterous as you think that sounds, the potential is certainly evident to suggest that the illegal drug business is doing more to contaminate the water supply in Oklahoma than the poultry industry. The source of the increased phosphorus in the water supply has not actually been determined; poultry operations have simply been the only target.

Perhaps if these drug cases were to get prosecuted and convicts were to be put behind bars, other meth producers would feel the pressure to get their operations out of the area and water quality would improve. And since most meth producers aren't contributing in a positive way to the economy through sales tax payments or income tax reporting, let's just assume that keeping hard-working, tax-paying poultry operations in these rural communities would be more beneficial than continuing to allow meth producers to go without prosecution.

Senator Jim Inhofe has recently suggested a real solution to the ongoing lawsuit involving the Water Wars of Oklahoma, including using mediation to solve ongoing disputes and come to terms that both parties can agree upon. He has also included a provision in the farm bill suggesting that the Secretary of Agriculture develop a Poultry Sustainability Research Council, which will look at new ways to utilize nutrients from poultry operations. Time will tell if the powers that be in Oklahoma truly want to make a difference in improving the lives of Oklahoma residents or if we are witnessing one of the great abuses of power that I think is unfolding. No matter, I hope the entire agricultural community is tuned in to what is happening in northwest Arkansas and northeast Oklahoma. Your future may depend on it.

Editor's note: Trent Loos is a sixth generation United States farmer, host of the daily radio show, Loos Tales, and founder of Faces of Agriculture, a non-profit organization putting the human element back into the production of food. Get more information at www.FacesOfAg.com, or e-mail Trent at trent@loostales.com.

1/14/08