OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal appeals court Tuesday rejected the Cherokee Nation’s request to intervene in Oklahoma’s water-pollution lawsuit against 11 Arkansas poultry companies.
The divided three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver upheld U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell’s decision last year to prevent the tribe from being added as a plaintiff in a lawsuit the state filed against the companies in 2005.
Oklahoma claims poultry companies are legally responsible for the disposal of poultry waste that purportedly has damaged portions of the Illinois River Watershed in northeastern Oklahoma.It has allowed bacteria to be carried into lakes and streams and threaten the health of tens of thousands of people who boat and camp in the region every year, the state contends.
The tribe, whose lands lie within the watershed, filed a motion to intervene and protect its legal interests after Frizzell ruled Oklahoma could not win damages against the poultry companies because the state failed to include the Cherokee Nation as a plaintiff.
The judge denied the intervention motion in September 2009, less than a week before the case was set to go to trial, ruling that the tribe had waited too long and that granting the motion would likely cause a lengthy delay. Frizzell said the tribe could still file a separate lawsuit against the poultry companies.
Arkansas, Pages 12 on 09/22/2010