INDIANOLA, Okla. — Residents in the rural town of Indianola in Pittsburg County told 2 News they felt blindsided upon discovering a proposal from a neighbor to use land for two large chicken coops, which would use thousands of gallons of public water each day.
Thursday's packed meeting at the Indianola Water Board building was supposed to answer concerns about water infrastructure supporting poultry. But it was instead filled with questions from customers skeptical of engineer estimates.
"How do we get better service before you think about adding on this much usage?" one resident asked.
The controversy surrounds the commercial usage of not one but two planned chicken processing houses on the outskirts of town.
The sites would be leased to Aviagen, a multinational poultry breeding company with a location in Sallisaw. A contact with the company didn't respond to request for comment.
The controversy is similar to a legal case in Delaware County 2 News has also covered regarding another corporate-owned chicken coop facility.
"The application has been on the board for five months. I ask the board to vote," a lawyer of the property's owner, Lon Lee, told the board July 11.
The two declined to speak with 2 News as well, but mentioned during the meeting the twin coops would house at least 10,000 chickens each.
"There's a lot of questions that you all need to look at, a lot of information that the public needs to gather. I think somebody from Aviagen needs to be here," Leanne Lehrling said during the meeting.
Lehrling was one of dozens who spoke out against the proposal, which was set to be approved by the board in a vote but ultimately was struck down.
Lehrling owns a cattle ranch and a pond bordering the proposed site.
"There are microbial spores that will land in the watershed, land in the ponds," Lehrling said. "They cause algae blooms. Those will go on downstream, and the water will eventually run into Lake Eufaula."
The 80-acre lot where the coops would be located sits right across from Michael Lamotta's neighbors.
"They are literally in the middle of our community," Lamotta said. "We have neighbors right here. We're gonna have a massive chicken farm right here in our pasture."
"It's going to destroy our community," he added.
There's more this community doesn't like about the plan, according to several more who approached 2 News: claims of disruptive industrial traffic up and down the rural dirt road and claims the coops would create odors, for example.
But what changed the mind of the water board was the confusion of how much water such a farm would use before neighbors possibly ran out of their water.
"The effect of this would be, on my property, potentially increasing the water cost, decreasing water flow, and increasing infrastructure costs," Jerry Paden said.
"I request that we refuse subscription for the undue burden on the system," Board member Kenny Wilson said to the rest of the board before getting a second from a fellow member, prompting cheers.
A board member later confirmed to 2 News that they expect legal action from Lee shortly.
"I don't think the battle is over yet," Lehrling said. "I think (the property owner and Aviagen) are going to come back. They said they're going to sue. We'll see them again."
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