WA imposes $100K fine on North Spokane Farm Museum owner over irrigation rights

(The Center Square) – Facing $100,000 in fines, a Spokane County farmer now has 30 days to pay up or appeal after irrigating his property without permission as the state cuts access for dozens of others.

According to a news release, the Washington State Department of Ecology first took issue with Robert Greiff in 2019. The state typically requires water rights permits for anything outside of minor projects or when that water comes from a utility provider, especially for farms using surface and groundwater.

State law follows a “first-in-time, first-in-right” framework, meaning that Ecology prioritizes access for senior water right holders. Reporting by The Spokesman-Review recently found that Spokane just had its driest summer yet, which Ecology says led to the shutdown of water for nearly 160 rights holders.

“For years, we’ve seen repeated violations and a disregard for bringing this property into compliance,” Jamie Short, water resources section manager for Ecology’s Eastern Region, wrote in a news release.

According to state records, Grieff has several active rights dating back to 1949 for the North Spokane Farm Museum. The Spokesman-Review highlighted Grieff’s business in 2009, about two decades after his father passed away, having immigrated to the area from overseas in 1916 before starting his farm.

Grieff and his father are both listed as rights holders on state records, but those privileges only allow the family to pull water from a specific source. Greiff submitted additional applications in 2022, with the Spokane County Water Conservancy Board initially approving before later withdrawing support.

The board cited incomplete paperwork, overlapping water rights and irrigation without authorization.

Ecology sent a cease-and-desist letter in June 2023, but Grieff continued to irrigate the land anyway.

“We’ve made multiple attempts to provide technical assistance and achieve voluntary compliance, yet illegal use continues,” Short argued on behalf of Ecology. “It’s unfair as other legal water users were required to stop irrigating to protect the Little Spokane River and its fish and wildlife habitat.”

The state first fined Grieff $6,000 last summer and $15,000 two months after the violations continued.

He didn’t pay the penalties, so the Washington State Office of the Attorney General, or AGO, has since obtained a judgment lien in Spokane County Superior Court. Essentially, Greiff can’t refinance or sell his property until he or another party pays off the lien; if neither happens, the state could force a sale.

The $100,000 fine that Ecology announced on Thursday is the latest action against the man trying to preserve his family’s multigenerational farm. The penalty is specifically for irrigating about 69 acres at Wild Rose Prairie, where Greiff’s museum is located, without a permit from June 12 to July 25, 2025.

State law allows Ecology to levy civil penalties from $100 to $5,000 per day for water rights violations.

According to the release, Greiff pumps water from a spring tributary of Dragon Creek, which is a part of the Little Spokane River Watershed. The state stopped permitting new water permits there in 1976.

The Center Square contacted Greiff for comment but did not receive a response before publishing.

“Grieff has 30 days to pay the fine or appeal the decision to the Pollution Control Hearings Board,” according to the news release.