Farm facing ‘unprecedented’ $267,000 penalties from Ecology Department

Cascadia Daily News

The Skagit Valley Farm, a system of farm LLCs owned and operated by several farmers in the region, plans to fight a $267,000 penalty for violating water rights during last summer’s drought.

The company, which operates on over 3,000 acres in Skagit County, irrigated around 348 acres of vegetable crops in the lower Skagit and Samish watersheds without water rights, according to documents obtained from the state Department of Ecology.

Eight farms in the Skagit Valley Farm group will face penalties ranging from $6,000 to $62,000.

The size of the total fine was unusual.

The Depa...