Washington ranch owners fight $267K wetlands fine over cattle ponds

Key Points:

• Wade and Teresa King, owners of a multigenerational cattle ranch in Washington, face a $267,540 fine from the State Department of Ecology for allegedly damaging regulated wetlands by digging stockwater ponds, which they argue are longstanding and not wetlands.
• The Kings are challenging the fines and restoration orders, seeking a jury trial rather than an administrative hearing before the Pollution Control Hearings Board, but Washington courts have so far required them to complete the administrative process first.
• Their legal team, Pacific Legal Foundation, is prepared to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to assert the Kings' Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial, a move that could have significant implications for similar regulatory cases nationwide.
• The Kings warn that complying with the restoration orders, which they say are based on incorrect wetland designations, could cost over $3.7 million and threaten the financial viability of their ranch, which has been family-run for generations.
• The Washington Department of Ecology maintains that the Kings damaged 6.37 acres of naturally occurring wetlands and has ordered restoration of 34 areas, but the Kings insist they have always cared for the land and that the case could impact livestock water rights for other ranchers statewide.