Oklahoma Officials Clash Over Tyson Pollution Case
- Cherokee 411 Staff
- Nov 12, 2025
- 2 min read
By Staff | Cherokee 411
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — Oklahoma’s top elected leaders are at odds over a long-running pollution lawsuit against Tyson Foods and other poultry giants, with Attorney General Gentner Drummond seeking more than $100 million in penalties while Gov. Kevin Stitt pushes to delay the case.
The state’s lawsuit, first filed in 2005, accuses several poultry companies of polluting the Illinois River Watershed in eastern Oklahoma with phosphorus runoff from chicken waste used as fertilizer. In 2023, U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell ruled in favor of the state but ordered both sides to negotiate damages.
Drummond, a Republican, asked the court this year to impose penalties exceeding $100 million on Tyson, Cargill and Simmons Foods, arguing the pollution caused long-term environmental harm.
Last month, Stitt moved to intervene in the case, asking Frizzell to require renewed settlement talks. The governor, who has criticized the lawsuit, signed a 2024 law shielding poultry companies from certain environmental lawsuits. He also dismissed his energy and environment secretary after the official appeared in court supporting Drummond’s position.
Drummond responded Wednesday by filing a motion urging the court to deny Stitt’s request and issue a final ruling. He accused the governor of “cherry-picking” language from a recent Oklahoma Supreme Court decision to justify his involvement.
“The state and poultry companies have already made good-faith efforts to negotiate,” Drummond’s motion said, noting that settlement discussions continued voluntarily this summer but have since broken down.
Former Attorney General Drew Edmondson, who filed the original lawsuit and later ran unsuccessfully against Stitt in 2018, said the governor’s move “is categorically a delay tactic and I do not believe the court will buy it.”
The case underscores a broader political divide between Stitt and Drummond, two of Oklahoma’s most prominent Republicans who have clashed repeatedly on legal and policy fronts. Stitt is nearing the end of his second and final term, while Drummond is expected to seek the governorship in 2026.
Oklahoma ranks among the top 10 U.S. states for chicken production, raising about 215 million broilers in 2023 valued at more than $1 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Despite state regulations requiring “nutrient management plans” to limit poultry waste runoff, complaints over odors and water quality persist in eastern Oklahoma communities near the Arkansas border.
Stitt’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
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