Washington Ranch Family Fights State Fine Over Alleged Wetland Damage, Seeks Jury Trial
Wade and Teresa King, owners of King Ranch in Grant and Douglas counties, are challenging a $267,540 fine from the Washington State Department of Ecology. The department alleges the Kings damaged protected wetlands by digging ponds for their livestock, ordering them to restore the areas. The Kings contend these are long-standing stockwater ponds, not regulated wetlands, and that the department's orders are unachievable and financially ruinous. They have been seeking a jury trial, arguing that the administrative process through the Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB) is biased against property owners. Washington Governor Bob Ferguson, who was the state's attorney general when the dispute began, has appointment authority over the PCHB. A Washington Court of Appeals commissioner has paused PCHB proceedings while the court considers the Kings' right to a jury trial.
