Whitman County livestock operation penalized for ongoing water quality violations along Steptoe Creek

For the first time since 2013, the Washington Department of Ecology issued a penalty in Eastern Washington for polluted runoff from farming operations. Greg, Dan, and Doug Stout of Whitman County received a $48,000 penalty for repeatedly allowing cattle to damage riparian areas and pollute Steptoe Creek.

The penalty comes after $200,000 of taxpayer funds were invested in the property to help address water quality concerns. The issues persisted due to lack of landowner oversight. Ecology repeatedly offered technical and financial assistance to the Stouts beginning in 2002 to help the brothers protect the creek from livestock pollution.

In 2018, after an administrative order required them to stop polluting the creek, the Stouts agreed to a plan that protected the creek. They used the $200,000 in taxpayer funds to build fences, install offsite watering stations, and plant thousands of native trees and shrubs.

Despite significant investment of public funds and a requirement to maintain those investments, the Stouts have for years allowed livestock to damage fencing and completely destroy $70,000 worth of native plantings put in by Palouse Conservation District. The $48,000 penalty is based on instances where Ecology staff directly observed violations of the administrative order.

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

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

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.

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