Tyson Foods and Cargill will settle for more than $25 million in a poultry litter pollution case that has spanned 20 years in Oklahoma.
“For over two decades, Oklahoma has fought to protect the Illinois River Watershed and the natural resources that sustain our communities,” said Oklahoma Attorney General Genter Drummond. “The decision to settle by Tyson and Cargill makes one thing unmistakably clear: corporate accountability is not optional, and protecting Oklahoma’s water can, and must, go hand in hand with a strong poultry and agricultural industry.”
The case was originally filed in 2005 and sought to hold poultry companies accountable for alleged phosphorus pollution from poultry waste.
Tyson will pay $19 million for remediation and conservation of the Illinois River Watershed. Cargill and Cargill Turkey Production will pay $6.5 million.
