By Steve Berg
One of seven poultry companies being sued by the State over chicken waste pollution has settled.
State Attorney General Gentner Drummond says George’s Inc., based in Springdale, Arkansas, has agreed to pay $5 million to water remediation and conservation projects and to reduce the amount of poultry litter in the Illinois River watershed, from no more than 40-percent to no more than 20-percent.
George’s will also pay $250 thousand for an independent expert, to monitor the company’s compliance with the settlement.
Six other poultry companies- Tyson, Cobb Vantress, Cargill, Simmons, Peterson Farms and Cal-Maine – are still fighting the state’s lawsuit and trying to appeal a judge’s ruling that says they must help pay for cleanup and imposes strict rules on where they can put chicken waste.
