WASHINGTON (AP) — A farmer who raises chickens for poultry giant Perdue Farms did not discharge pollution into a nearby river, a federal judge ruled Thursday in a case that had been closely watched by environmentalists and the poultry industry.

U.S. District Judge William Nickerson sided with Alan Hudson in a 50-page ruling, saying a New York-based environmental group that sued the farmer and Perdue for pollution had failed to prove its case.