Oklahoma City, OK - Despite an Oklahoma Health Department finding that poultry litter was probably not the source of a deadly E. coli outbreak last year in northeast Oklahoma, Attorney General Drew Edmondson is blaming Arkansas poultry farms.

The Oklahoma Department of Health said previously it was unlikely that well water caused the outbreak at the Country Cottage Restaurant in Locust Grove last August. One person died and more than 300 others were sickened. The department said investigators who examined the well did not find bacteria of the type that killed one person and sickened 300 others.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Environmental Quality said Friday it would conduct additional sampling of private water wells next week within a five-mile radius of Locust Grove to ensure the safety of drinking water in the area.

Edmondson has filed a lawsuit accusing 13 Arkansas-based poultry companies of polluting the Illinois River Watershed with bird waste. The poultry litter is spread across pastures, and it ends up contaminating wells, he alleges. Attorneys for the companies say the lawsuit is unfounded and that Edmondson's claims are unsubstantiated.

At a news conference Friday, Edmondson released findings of a report from attorneys with his Environmental Protection Unit. The report concludes that the well at the buffet restaurant is contaminated with poultry waste and associated bacteria, including E. Coli.

Tyson Foods spokesman Gary Mickelson said Edmondson, "has just added to his record of making unsubstantiated claims."


(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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