ADAIR COUNTY, Okla. — A Tulsa federal judge rejected a proposed settlement between major poultry corporations and State of Oklahoma, once again throwing many producers' contracts into a state of limbo in the latest of turns in the case.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond has contended the best result for farmers and the state is finalizing a settlement from several of the biggest poultry corporations totaling over $30 million for past damage to the Illinois River watershed and Lake Tenkiller.
- LAST UPDATE>>> Settlement reached in 20 year poultry pollution lawsuit
However, Tulsa federal court Judge Gregory Frizzell noted nine key reasons for refusing to close the case:
-The companies proposed consent judgments totaling more than $30 million to replace a stricter court judgment entered December 19, 2025. Judge Frizzell denied all four motions, finding the settlements legally and substantively inadequate.
-In June 2025, Judge Frizzell found that phosphorus runoff from land-applied poultry waste continues to be a significant source of pollution causing "actual and ongoing injury" to the waters of the IRW. The court previously found in January 2023 that defendants "unreasonably interfered with the public's right to the use and enjoyment of the waters of the IRW."
-Judge Frizzell noted that under the proposed consent judgments, up to 50% of the "$30,175,000 Monetary Relief Fund" could be used to pay attorney fees and litigation costs to outside private lawyers, leaving as little as $15,087,500 for actual remediation. The judge also noted the 50% cap was not written into the consent judgments themselves, meaning even more could potentially go to attorneys. Attorney fee payments would not be subject to judicial review.
-The judge said the proposed consent judgments included no civil penalties whatsoever.
-Judge Frizzell found that the proposed consent judgments did not limit poultry waste application based on soil phosphorus levels — the standard used in the court's judgment (no application where soil test phosphorus exceeds 120 lbs./acre). Instead, the settlements used percentage-based restrictions on litter removal weight. The State conceded at the March 6 hearing that if poultry waste production increased, the total amount applied to land could actually increase despite the percentage restrictions.
-Judge Frizzell's December 2025 judgment requires 30 years of oversight to remediate legacy phosphorus in the soil. The proposed consent judgments would have expired in 7 years (Tyson and George's) or 10 years (Cargill and Peterson). The State conceded at the February 27 hearing that remediation could not be achieved in the short term.
-Judge Frizzell noted that the parties had nearly three years between the January 2023 Findings of Fact and the December 2025 Judgment to reach a negotiated resolution — including multiple mediation sessions with retired Tenth Circuit Judge Deanell Reece Tacha — but failed to do so. The judge wrote that the parties' failure to settle earlier "suggests they roll[ed] the dice and now seek to erase the result of that gamble through vacatur."
-The case is not over. Two major defendants, Simmons Foods and Cal-Maine, have filed appeals, meaning the legal battle over the Illinois River watershed will continue in the Tenth Circuit.
"We’re really banging our heads against the wall at this point," Shawn Clark of Clark Farms in Adair County told 2 News Oklahoma on April 9.
Clark said he's not surprised at the judge's actions because he believes the settlement conditions would not hold up in court, and that the judge is fed bad information.
"We have followed every rule that’s been put out there for us, and we are literally being attacked," Clark said. "The poultry is being attacked by the State of Oklahoma for following the rules that the State of Oklahoma gave us.”
Drummond's office has since responded with a statement:
“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."
Gov. Kevin Stitt let his criticism of the attorney general known after giving a State of The State address in Broken Arrow on April 8.
"This should have never gotten to this point," Gov. Stitt said. "The attorney general should have dismissed this a long time ago. This started 20 years ago, and Oklahoma and Arkansas have come together and self-regulated and changed some of the distribution in that watershed.”
Another poultry producer texted 2 News reporter Samson Tamijani on April 9 that she broke down and began crying when the news broke, adding her family’s entire livelihoods are now at stake.
Much of the poultry producer community in and around the county are now demanding the attorney general come back to Westville for another community meeting after one he spoke at in January.
- Previous coverage>>> 'You're taking away our way of living' | Poultry producers slam Drummond
Drummond's office told 2 News on April 9 no future meetings are scheduled.
"We need him to come back," Clark said. "We need to know what the plan is. This thing’s been held over our heads for 20 years and we’re just ready for it to go away.”
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