Court allows poultry pollution claims to move forward

A U.S. district court has ruled that Oklahoma can move forward with some of its claims in a pollution lawsuit against poultry companies, according to Tulsa World.

Tyson Foods and 10 other poultry companies in the case had asked Judge Gregory Frizell to dismiss claims involving national and state nuisance laws and a claim that chicken companies’ alleged pollution of the Illinois River watershed violates trespassing laws.

Oklahoma contends that chicken litter has polluted the watershed and that the poultry companies are responsible for the problem.

Last week, Judge Frizell dismissed a state claim that poultry litter qualifies as solid waste under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.