By FOX23.com News Staff
UPDATE 4/9/2026 — Governor Kevin Stitt released a statement yesterday after the federal judge rejecting the proposed settlement agreement. It reads:
“My heart goes out to the poultry growers in Eastern Oklahoma. The uncertainty they face is unimaginable, and it was preventable if Attorney General Drummond had simply withdrawn from this 20-year-old Democrat lawsuit,” said Governor Kevin Stitt.
After decades of litigation, the Attorney General left the economic fates of these poultry growers to the courts despite ample opportunity to settle in a manner that protects the environment and the growers’ livelihoods. After the court ruled, he rushed to settle in a way that would have created an unsustainable checkerboard of regulations. This ruling will harm the poultry growers’ ability to earn a living and will saddle them with millions of dollars of remediation costs.
“We are disappointed in the court’s ruling. These agreements followed months of good-faith negotiations and would have delivered more than $31 million to address poultry litter pollution in the Illinois River Watershed.
Our focus remains on securing fair and reasonable agreements, a focus shared by all four of the settling defendants in this case.
Cargill, George’s, Peterson Farms and Tyson have already filed appeals of the court’s decision. They expressed their commitment to finalizing the settlements regardless of the outcome, including by private settlement if necessary.”
TULSA, Okla. — A federal judge has rejected a proposed settlement between the state of Oklahoma and several poultry companies in a long-running lawsuit over water pollution in the Illinois River watershed.
The state had been prepared to finalize an agreement with major processors, including Tyson Foods, Cargill and Simmons Foods. The proposal included financial penalties, a plan to clean up the Illinois River and continued monitoring of water quality and runoff.
In a ruling issued Wednesday, a federal judge in Tulsa threw out the settlement.
The case dates back more than two decades. Oklahoma filed the lawsuit in 2005, alleging poultry processors and their contract growers polluted the Illinois River with runoff containing chicken waste. A court later ruled the companies were legally responsible for the pollution.
Gov. Kevin Stitt said the decision prevents the state from resolving the case and raises concerns about uncertainty for poultry farmers in eastern Oklahoma.
The lawsuit has centered on pollution in the Illinois River watershed, where phosphorus from poultry waste has remained at elevated levels despite cleanup efforts outside the courtroom.
State officials have said they are now considering next steps following the ruling.
