Washington Ecology fines ranchers over stream runoff in Whitman County

The Washington state Department of Ecology has issued a $48,000 fine against ranchers who are based in Idaho but run cattle on land along Steptoe Creek in Whitman County near where the creek dumps into the Snake River.

The fine is for polluted runoff from farming operations. It names Greg, Dan and Doug Stout “for repeatedly allowing cattle to damage areas and pollute Steptoe Creek.”

Ecology officials levied the fine after about $200,000 worth of taxpayer funds were spent to help address water quality concerns. They wrote in a news release that they repeatedly offered assistance to the Stouts beginning in 2022 to help protect the creek from livestock pollution.

“We have attempted to work with the Stouts for nearly 25 years, often going above and beyond to find solutions to protect Steptoe Creek,” Mitch Redfern, Ecology’s watershed unit supervisor for Eastern Washington, said in the release. “Taxpayers are out thousands of dollars because they repeatedly neglected to hold up their end of the agreement.”

That intervention included a 2018 administrative order that required the Stouts from polluting Steptoe Creek, which is located several miles mostly west and a bit north of Lewiston, Idaho. The ranchers used the $200,000 in taxpayer funds to build fences, install off-site water stations to lure cattle away from the creek and to plant thousands of native trees and shrubs.

But since that time, the ranching operation “for years allowed livestock to damage fencing and completely destroy $70,000 worth of native plantings” put in place by the Palouse Conservation District.

The Stout operation stretches along more than 16,000 feet of mainstem Steptoe Creek – a stream that provides habitat for Snake River steelhead trout. The stream suffers from water quality impairments, including low dissolved oxygen, high temperatures and fecal coliform bacteria, according to the release.

The water quality problems in Steptoe Creek can be connected to livestock accessing streams. Livestock can introduce harmful bacteria, excess nutrients and sediment to the water.

Livestock can also damage vegetation that keeps the water cool for fish and naturally removes pollutants before it reaches the water, according to the news release.

The Stouts have 30 days to pay the penalty or appeal to the Pollution Control Hearings Board.

According to online searches, Doug and Dan Stout are based near Genesee, Idaho. Calls placed to them seeking comment were not returned on Friday.