Op-Ed from our local paper. This could happen anywhere

Oklahoma's phosphorus limit under attack. ED BROCKSMITH. Oklahoma agreed to review its numeric phosphorus limit for scenic rivers if northwest Arkansas reduced phosphorus in sewage and if Arkansas regulated poultry manure in the Illinois River watershed. Time will tell if that was a good bargain. Phosphorus is a nutrient that degrades water quality, as Tulsans well know. This summer's outbreak of potentially toxic blue green algae at several lakes was fed by nutrients including phosphorus. If the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) bows to pressure from Arkansas and weakens the limit, it might be devastating to the Illinois River and Tenkiller Lake. The battle to protect the Illinois River goes back a long way and is still contentious. The United States Supreme Court, in a major Illinois River pollution lawsuit, ruled that upstream states must meet the water quality standards of downstream states. Oklahoma raised its water quality standards and began extensive water sampling for phosphorus. Oklahoma sued some of the nation's biggest poultry companies for polluting the watershed with manure. A federal judge in Tulsa has seemingly parked on the case and there is no resolution. The Northwest Arkansas Council and others are again lobbying Oklahoma, Congress, and the EPA against Oklahoma's nutrient limit. Their primary concern seems to be the cost of more advanced sewage treatment. The council is composed of corporations, chambers of commerce and developers. Walmart and Tyson Foods, two of America's biggest companies, push the council's pro-growth, regional agenda. Another player is the University of Arkansas. Both the Sam Walton College of Business and the Agriculture Department are heavily funded by the Walton Foundation and by Tyson. These forces are smart, have big purses and have a lot at stake if poultry companies have to clean up their mess and if sewage treatment plants are forced to remove even more phosphorus. Northwest Arkansas leaders want to show that the limit is impossible to achieve. They believe that the degradation of the Illinois River has progressed to the extent that saving the river is not economically feasible. Instead of putting pressure on the poultry industry, which is unregulated by the Clean Water Act, northwest Arkansas' leaders, including owners of regulated sewage plants, are telling us that it is impossible to save the Illinois River. At a recent OWRB hearing in Tahlequah, one after another Arkansas speaker railed against the limit. In the midst of their consternation and teeth-gnashing, one voice spoke for more river protection, reminding how much phosphorus crosses our border with Arkansas, and advising against any decision swayed by selfish critics who profess to be our good neighbors but who are more worried about their bottom lines. The speaker was Save the Illinois River (STIR) President Kurt Robinson of Muskogee. Robinson said that restoring the Illinois River and five other Oklahoma Scenic Rivers (all beginning in Arkansas) is not impossible. Robinson thanked the cities and the taxpayers in northwest Arkansas who have poured millions of dollars into sewage treatment plant improvements over the last decade. He gratefully acknowledged that some poultry manure finally is being removed from the watershed. Will Oklahoma's .037 phosphorus limit help restore the Illinois River and Tenkiller Lake? Should there be a moratorium on spreading poultry manure in the watershed and should cities pressure factory farms and Congress to clean up the poultry industry's mess? Will these things be costly? Is it worth it, and will future generations thank us? The answer to all these questions is a resounding yes. Is it too late to save the Illinois River, as our neighbors say? That answer is definitely no! Oklahoma has set its sights high for the Illinois River. Arkansas has very low expectations. It reminds me of something the late Oklahoma humorist James H. Boren said: "You can't soar with eagles if you roost with the chickens. Ed Brocksmith is a member of Save the Illinois River..