AMT537-UNCONSCIONABLE WASHINGTON DESTROYS 4 000+ ACRE MULTIGENERATIONAL FARM - As A Man Thinketh - Yanasa TV

Charlie and Shuana Rankin pull back the curtain on the Foday family’s decades‑long clash with the Washington Department of Ecology. Ron Foday, a fourth‑generation farmer who once tended 4,000 acres of potatoes, alfalfa and cattle, now fights to keep a sliver of his heritage after the state slapped a $618,000 cease‑and‑desist penalty for allegedly pumping water without permission. The hosts walk listeners through the tangled paperwork: landowner Michelle Keys delivering a “Plan for Moving Water Rights for 2017,” Ecology’s abrupt $618,000 fine, its later reduction to $260,000 by the Pollution Control Hearings Board, and the agency’s claim that the farm’s crop circles weren’t covered by the transferred rights.The episode zeroes in on two legal flashpoints now before the Washington Supreme Court. First, does RCW 9003‑605 require Ecology to provide concrete technical assistance—an actionable plan—not just a “stop‑pumping” order? Second, is the February 15 administrative cutoff a lawful rule or merely an internal convenience that Ecology can waive at will? Kevin Brown, Ecology’s hydrologist, admits the agency sometimes processes late applications, underscoring the arbitrariness of the deadline.Through vivid anecdotes—late‑night calls, 26‑hour work marathons, and aerial photos that sparked heated debate—the Rankins illustrate how procedural opacity can erase a multigenerational farm. They also highlight the broader stakes: a Supreme Court ruling that could either tether Ecology’s rulemaking power or open the door for unchecked penalties against every Washington farmer.Listeners get a front‑row seat to the courtroom drama, the EPA‑style documentary shared by John Rich of Pacific Legal, and the stark warning that, if Ecology’s approach is upheld, the state may effectively weaponize water‑right enforcement against agriculture across the Columbia Basin and beyond.

Categories: Cowboys - Land