Inside a rancher family's clash with gov't that could have ripple effect right to SCOTUS: ‘Existential threat’
The owners of a multigenerational cattle ranch say they are facing an "existential threat" after the Washington State Department of Ecology fined them hundreds of thousands of dollars over their...
By Fox News · Fox News
The owners of a multigenerational cattle ranch say they are facing an "existential threat" after the Washington State Department of Ecology fined them hundreds of thousands of dollars over their stockwater ponds, and they are warning the case could have substantial implications nationwide. The department fined Wade and Teresa King, owners of King Ranch in Grant and Douglas counties, $267,540 in 2023 for allegedly damaging regulated wetlands by digging ponds to provide water for their ranching operations. The Kings argue the areas, which they were ordered to restore, are longstanding stockwater ponds for their livestock, not regulated wetlands. The Kings, who have been trying to get their case in front of a jury, told Fox News Digital that, not only is their financial stability at stake, so are the rights of other ranchers. "Losing this fight would be an existential threat," Wade said. "I don't know how we would recover from that, to be honest with you." HOW A LOBSTERMAN'S PRIVACY FIGHT REACHED SCOTUS — AND COULD RIPPLE FAR BEYOND THE WATER: 'AIN'T OVER YET' When the Kings were first hit with the fines and restoration orders, they immediately set out to challenge them. However, the department's required process directed them to bring their case before the Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB), an administrative panel that does not provide jury trials. In March, the Kings filed a separate lawsuit in Grant County Superior Court , arguing the case should not be decided by the PCHB and that doing so would violate their right to a jury trial. Months later, a judge dismissed the lawsuit, ruling the Kings first had to complete the administrative process. The Kings appealed the decision, and a Washington Court of Appeals commissioner paused the PCHB proceedings in September while the court considers whether they are entitled to a jury trial . "It's all under the executive branch , and they very rarely go with the property owner," Wa…