TULSA, OKLA. — Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson said 12 poultry companies are choosing to "critique" the state's expert witnesses instead of explaining why the Illinois River watershed is polluted with bacteria, according to The Associated Press.

Mr. Edmondson said in a motion filed July 6 in Tulsa federal court Oklahoma would be denied due process if the court were to strike the testimony of 10 expert witnesses in the state's environmental lawsuit, as the poultry companies have requested. He claims the companies have accused Oklahoma of "enlisting attack experts to launch a surprise attack on their experts" in the motion.

In 2005, Mr. Edmondson sued the companies, claiming bacteria from the over-application of poultry litter in the 1-million-acre watershed leeches into the groundwater, springs and wells.