Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has fired his energy and environment secretary for appearing in court for a lawsuit against poultry companies accused of polluting Oklahoma waters.

Stitt announced on Tuesday he immediately dismissed Ken McQueen from his Cabinet position and replaced him with an energy industry official. The governor said he was disappointed McQueen appeared in a court hearing for the lawsuit on the side of Attorney General Gentner Drummond and environmentalists, a move he said was in opposition to Oklahoma farmers and landowners.

The Attorney General’s Office confirmed McQueen attended the Tuesday hearing in Tulsa federal court and sat at the counsel table because he is a listed plaintiff. McQueen, who served on Stitt’s Cabinet since 2022, did not return a request for comment.

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Former Attorney General Drew Edmondson filed the lawsuit in 2005 against 13 large poultry companies, including Tyson Foods.

He called Stitt’s firing of McQueen Tuesday “just plain stupid.”

The lawsuit always has included the Oklahoma secretary of environment as a plaintiff, Edmondson said. All subsequent environment secretaries, including McQueen, have inherited the role as plaintiff regardless of whether they supported the lawsuit.

“Showing up in a court appearance where he was obligated to be and firing him over that is just crazy,” Edmondson said.

Drummond similarly inherited the long-pending case when he became attorney general in 2023.

The lawsuit contends that large poultry companies should be held responsible for polluting the Illinois River Watershed with phosphorus and causing a buildup of algae as a result of waste from chicken farms in eastern Oklahoma.

The lawsuit targets large corporations, not local farmers, Edmondson said.

“Every other business in this country is responsible for the safe and environmentally sound disposal of waste that is generated by whatever business they are in … except poultry, until this lawsuit,” he said.

Stitt called the lawsuit a “radical left attempt at backdoor regulation through litigation.”

The case is in the middle of an evidentiary hearing this week before U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell. The judge agreed with the plaintiffs last year that the defendant corporations are responsible for polluting the Illinois River.

However, Frizzell has yet to enter a final judgment to conclude the case.

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Drummond celebrated Frizzell’s ruling last year as a “great and historic day for Oklahoma.” But, he also acknowledged the poultry industry has made “strong improvements in waste disposal to ameliorate the extent of the problem.”

The attorney general will continue to seek a fair resolution to the case that protects natural resources and preserves agricultural production, spokesperson Leslie Berger said on Tuesday.

“Attorney General Drummond is a rancher and landowner who supports Oklahoma agriculture without fail,” Berger said. “The lawsuit was filed by a previous attorney general and maintained by every attorney general since, including Governor Stitt’s hand-picked (former) attorney general, who was roundly rejected by rural Oklahoma despite the governor’s best efforts.”

Drummond defeated Stitt-appointed former Attorney General John O’Connor in a 2022 Republican primary.

Stitt announced energy industry official Jeff Starling will replace McQueen as energy and environment secretary.

Starling is the chief legal and administrative officer and corporate secretary of Lagoon Water Midstream. He is the former assistant general counsel of Devon Energy Corp.

Along with advising the governor in energy and environmental policy, the Cabinet position oversees 36 state agencies, boards, compacts and commissions and is the recipient of Federal Clean Water Act funding.

“Jeff’s extensive experience in both the private and public sectors provides unique insights that make him well qualified to guide our state’s energy strategy,” Stitt said in his announcement. “He knows what the industry needs to ensure that Oklahoma remains a national leader in energy innovation and economic growth.”

Starling said in a statement that he is “thrilled to serve Oklahoma in this new capacity.”

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