The executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality testified last week that his organization will follow any plan that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency develops regarding water quality in the Illinois River watershed, although he expressed skepticism that the effort will be finalized as quickly as the federal agency projects. Steve Thompson said during his testimony in federal court in Tulsa that the EPA rarely, if ever, meets its initial deadlines in such situations. EPA Acting Deputy Regional Administrator Miguel Flores sent a letter Oct. 1 to state officials in Oklahoma and Arkansas to inform them that over the next 12 to 18 months, the agency would develop a "scientifically robust model of the Illinois River watershed" to form the basis for a water-quality restoration plan in the area.
The trial began Sept. 24, and the state spent several weeks introducing environmental expert testimony buttressing its claims about the phosphorus, copper, zinc and arsenic in the watershed that it asserts can be traced to the poultry industry.For more, see waterworld.com.
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