department of ecology

The Washington State Department of Ecology has fined three farmers a total of more than $600,000 for illegally pumping more than 500 million gallons of groundwater from the Odessa aquifer.   One farm irrigated 65 acres of alfalfa, another 130 acres of timothy hay and a third 335 acres of alfalfa and potatoes.  ...

The Washington State Department of Ecology has issued $450,000 in grant money designed to improve water quality across the state, but could impact livestock owners.   More than $26,000 will go to the Walla Walla County Conservation District who will install 1,700 feet of fencing near Little Mud Creek to prevent livestock access.  ...

The Washington State Department of Ecology has issued initial guidelines for a water quality permit that would apply to wineries which would be a first for the industry.   Stacey Callaway, a general permit writer in DOE’s Water Quality Program, said their goal is to protect water quality and provide flexibility in compliance for wineries.   “...

The Washington State Department of Ecology released their fines for the third quarter of 2017 and it included a fine levied against Hi Point Orchards of Mesa.   The orchard was fined for burning prohibited materials in a burn pile on their property and for using a burn barrel which the DOE notes are prohibited.  ...

Illegal burning costs three Grant and Adams County producers a few thousand dollars in fines to the Washington State Department of Ecology.   The DOE released their fines for the first quarter of 2017 and it included one producer in Othello who was fined $3,000 for burning without a permit and burning illegal materials. Two...

The Simplot Western Stockmen’s feed mill in Wallula has been fined $10,000 by the Washington State Department of Ecology for air quality violatioins.   During a site visit, DOE inspectors say that they found that the company was not using proper equipment to protect people and the environment from small particles that are a result of grinding corn down for feed.   T...

A broad coalition has sent a letter to Governor Jay Inslee asking him to work with the state Department of Ecology to strengthen the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation, or CAFO, permit.   The letter, signed by groups such as the Sierra Club, OneAmerica, Western Environmental Law Center and more are looking to replace the existing permit with one based on the Clean Water Act, require ground and

Washington State University, the Washington Department of Ecology and the Department of Fish and Wildlife are updating the Columbia River Basin Water supply and Demand Forecast.  They kicked off a series of three workshops focused on the report Tuesday in Richland.  Re...

Three meetings next week will present research on climate change and its impact on water, as well as get feedback from producers on what they are doing to conserve.   The Department of Ecology’s Joye Redfield-Wilder said it’s important for farmers to get to one of the workshops.   “We can...

The Lind Coulee Siphon Projects have been completed, on time and under budget.  The Columbia Basin Development League’s Mike Schwisow said sites 1 and 2 are the largest infrastructure projects on the East Low Canal, for the Odessa Ground Water Replacement Project.  He told ...