SPOKANE, Wash. — A Spokane County farmer has been fined $100,000 for repeatedly illegally using water near Deer Park.

According to the Washington Department of Ecology (DOE), the farmer repeatedly irrigated 69 acres at Wild Rose Prairie near Deer Park without authorization.

The DOE said the irrigation kept happening despite warnings, a cease-and-desist order and unpaid penalties which led to a property lien.

The repeated irrigation happened for 20 days between June 12 and July 25 on property owned by Robert H. Greiff, according to the DOE.

The DOE said Grieff pumped water from a spring tributary to Dragoon Lake, which is part of the Little Spokane River watershed. The DOE said the creek and other streams in the Little Spokane River watershed have been closed to new water rights since 1

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