Listen Now to the NPR Version of This Story:
Or Download this Episode to Your Computer, iPhone, etc.
(GH: Northwest News Network correspondent Anna King reports for Northwest Public Radio.)
RICHLAND, WA – A massive feedlot north of Pasco, Washington can draw as much water as it needs from a deep well according to a decision by a Franklin County Superior judge today. Dryland wheat farmers who have been fighting the 35,000 cow feedlot were stunned and worried after the ruling. Correspondent Anna King was there.
The plaintiffs, including dryland wheat farmers and the environmental group Earthjustice, say Washington State’s water laws were meant for small family operations and didn’t intend industrial farms to pump as much as they want from wells. The defendants were Washington’s Attorney General’s Office and the feedlot’s owners Easterday Ranches. They say there is no clear proof that drawing large amounts of water will dry up neighbors’ wells. After a heated debate over grammar and how the law should be read, the judge ruled in favor of the cattle feedlot. Afterwards, third-generation wheat farmer Blain Dougherty stepped outside.
Blain Dougherty: “If my well goes dry I’m done. So what do I do? Haul water or that or pack up and leave the farm.”
The owner of Easterday Ranches declined to comment. The cattle feedlot will have as many as 35,000 head of cattle. It’s under construction now.
Copyright 2010 Northwest Public Radio
And here’s more on the feedlot issue from the Yakima Herald
|
The Northwest News Network is a collaboration of public radio stations in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. N3's reporters bring a regional perspective to daily news and produce features that go beyond the headlines.
|
