SPOKANE, Wash. — A farmer near Deer Park has been fined $100,000 by the Washington Department of Ecology for illegal water use.
According to the department, Wild Rose Prairie, property owned by Robert Grieff, has been warned repeatedly about illegal water usage to irrigate 69 acres of land without authorization.
Warnings have escalated into a cease-and-desist order, unpaid fines, and a lien on the property. Ecology first documented Grieff’s violations in 2019.
Ecology says Grieff is pumping from a spring tributary to Dragoon Creek, which is part of the Little Spokane River watershed. This stream has been closed to new water rights since 1976 due to limited availability.
Grieff has 30 days to pay the fine or appeal.
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