Please make HB 4118 go away
Dear Editor, Let’s hope our legislators will not act on House Bill 4118 by Rep. David Hardin of Stilwell this session. The bill shelters poultry growers and large corporations, including Tyson Foods from liability for polluting the waters of Oklahoma.
The facts about Illinois River watershed water quality speak for themselves.
1. Oklahoma’s limit for phosphorus (0.037 mg/l) continues to be exceeded by Arkansas at our border by more than 98-percent. The limit is exceeded down stream at Tahlequah by more than 90-percent.
2. Yearly, tons of phosphorous enter Lake Tenkiller causing water quality impairment to this important economic resource. The latest data show that an average of more than 57.5 thousand kilograms of phosphorus went to Tenkiller Lake each year between 2018-22.
3. Oklahoma Scenic Rivers water quality is reported to the U.S. EPA by the state. These rivers are listed as “impaired” because they don’t meet all assigned beneficial uses including recreation.
Studies show that most phosphorus comes from non-point sources (not sewage treatment plants) and is from animal feeding operations. The majority of these operations in the Illinois River watershed are poultry farms that contract with Arkansas corporations, including Tyson Foods and Simmons Foods.
Tyson and Simmons companies have both been found by the United States Federal District Court to have polluted the Illinois River watershed. These companies would receive unwarranted protection from liability by HB4118 and it would become more difficult for Oklahoma citizens living near chicken farms to protect their property from air and water pollution.
The state has never sued a poultry farmer. It is unfair to label lawsuits by property owners adjacent to these mega farms as “frivolous.”
A report estimates that Tyson Foods discharged 371.72 million gallons of wastewater contaminated with pollutants into local waterways from 41 of its facilities in 17 states from 2018 to 2022.
The report relies on data from the Environmental Protection Agency to estimate the quantity and distribution of water discharges.
This article is at this link: https://www.theguardian. com/environment/2024/apr/30/tyson-foodstoxic- pollutants-lakes-rivers According to another report “ Waste Deep: Tyson’s Troubling Pollution,” Tyson Foods at Noel, Mo. contributed over 33-million pounds of pollution in 2018-22 into a tributary of Grand Lake in Oklahoma, via the Elk River. Yet not a peep of concern has been heard from Grand Lake organizations and the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation.
See: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/9d711 67bd46440c1871b041496498c8c?
Hopefully HB4118, now headed to conference, won’t be further considered this session. Just let it go away for the safety of our drinking water and out vital tourism economy.
An interim study of Oklahoma poultry growing operations should be conducted to determine if the agriculture department has the staff and resources to inspect and regulate these operations and their nutrient management plans.
Far too much phosphorus is being applied as fertilizer in our watersheds to get the nitrogen that farmers seek. Far too much of this damaging nutrient is getting into our scenic rivers and lakes including Lake Tenkiller and Grand Lake.
