By Hear John Durkee's report from the Federal Court House
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Tulsa, OK – TULSA, Okla. (AP) A federal judge in Oklahoma's lawsuit against 11 Arkansas poultry companies has reversed himself and will admit government reports on problems associated with chicken waste in the Illinois River valley and what to do about it.
U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell was initially persuaded by attorneys for the poultry companies to exclude some of the reports. They mostly indicate the industry is largely responsible for pollution in the watershed along the Oklahoma-Arkansas border.
But after a midday break Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson told the judge the companies had not objected to the reports before the trial began.
The studies date to the early 1990s and Edmondson says they identify poultry litter as a major source of phosphorus pollution in the watershed.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.