Oklahoma's Secretary of Environment Takes a Stand!

Miles Tolbert, Oklahoma Secretary of Environment, is asking the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) to withhold issuing permits for egg producer MOARK's planned expansion in Newton County Missouri. MOARK is seeking approval from the MDNR to build 13 houses in Newton County that would each hold 200,000 chickens each, totaling 2.6 million birds.

"Oklahoma is tired of being the dumping ground", said Mr Tolbert. In a letter from the Oklahoma Secretary of Environment to MDNR, Mr. Tolbert says that his chief concerns are related to Elk River and Spring River tributaries, both of which flow into Oklahoma. Both of these streams are in the watershed of Ft. Gibson Reservoir, which is designated as "nutrient-limited" in the Oklahoma Water Quality Standards. Tolbert's letter said that Oklahoma is concerned about MOARK's environmental record in Missouri. "MOARK has consistently violated the terms and conditions of their existing permits. What assurances are there that the proposed permits will not just be a continuation of the past problems and an undocumented source of additional nutrient loads to an already sensitive area?" The Joplin Globe, Tuesday, June 28, 2005, http://www.joplinglobe.com/story.php?story_id=194683

You've heard the phrase, "Know When to Say When". Well, isn't it time to say STOP. Why can't we stand up and stop these polluters before they do something else. What good is the process of public hearing, applications and comments if the polluters get their permit anyway. Obviously Miles Tolbert, Oklahoma Secretary of Environment, knows what is really going on. This is a good example of why we need to get the Spring River Watershed Organization up and going. It is embarassing that Oklahoma's Secretary of Environment is standing up for what (we know) is right in Missouri!