FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Patrick Connor, Washington State Director, patrick.connor@nfib.org,
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, anthony.malandra@nfib.org

OLYMPIA, Wash., March 18, 2026—In a classic case of a little guy up against a big bureaucratic beast, the NFIB Small Business Legal Center today announced its support of a petition to the Washington Supreme Court requesting review of a lower court’s decision in the case Fode v. Department of Ecology.

Lifelong farmer Ron Fode of Moses Lake has run afoul of a state agency too quick to levy a fine before complying with its statutory duty. “Given that Fode’s express purpose was to irrigate his land, Ecology had a duty to offer specialized, practical help in writing identifying one or more means to irrigate Fode’s land within the framework of the law,” according to NFIB’s amicus brief, filed today.

“Though the court of appeals held that ‘Ecology did not have a duty to provide technical assistance by finding water for Mr. Fode’s use,’ … this is exactly what a plain reading of the statute required Ecology to do—to offer specialized help in identifying ways that Fode could irrigate his land.”

NFIB’s brief argues that “[t]he statute clearly places an obligation on Ecology to assist Fode in finding a way to accomplish his purposes—i.e. to assist him in finding water rights. The court of appeals, however, held that a warning is sufficient technical assistance under the law to satisfy the statute and begin assessing penalties.”

“This is another instance of indifferent lower courts deferring to out-of-control bureaucrats who ignore the spirit and plain letter of the law, causing real harm to the very people that law is intended to assist,” said Patrick Connor, state director for NFIB in Washington. “I am proud that NFIB‘s Small Business Legal Center is willing to stand with family farmers and other small-business owners seeking to correct these injustices.”

Keep up with the latest Washington state small business news at www.nfib.com or on X @NFIB_WA or on Facebook @NFIB.WA

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For over 80 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.

NFIB Washington
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