OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson has cranked up the legal pressure on the country's major chicken producers over alleged fecal pollution in a key state watershed.

Edmondson last week announced he had filed an injunction in federal court to prevent chicken producers in northwest Arkansas from spreading poultry manure in the Illinois River Watershed. The AG has already sued major producers, including Tyson Foods and Cargill, over similar previous allegations.

His injunction - State of Oklahoma v. Tyson Foods, Inc. et al. (docket#05-cv-329-GKF) - claims the spread waste contains dangerous pathogens including E. coli and fecal coliforms that can cause serious illness. It claims eight bodies of water in the watershed have so far been contaminated.

"We can show that fecal bacteria in poultry waste is reaching the surface water and groundwater," Edmondson stated in the release. "We need the court to stop the dumping of waste to protect public health and the safety of the state's water resources."

Edmondson's controversial "Big Chicken" lawsuit against 14 major poultry companies with operations in upstream Arkansas is now in its third year. Recent battles have been fought over whether private lawyers representing the state can collect contingency fees, LNL reported several months ago.

The AG claims that poultry-farming operations in the watershed area generate around 347,000 tons of waste annually.