WHAT HAPPENS WHEN COUNTY OFFICIALS WEAPONIZE THEIR POWER AGAINST A LOCAL FARMER?

When I found out that I needed to spend $100,000 to buy gravel, a neighbor pointed out that I could own a rock crusher for the same price. I liked that idea, so I bought an old, used machine. It did not quite make the gravel I need, so I have ended up having to buy more. To date, I invested over $400,000 in old, used equipment. I face a lot of investment risk just on the business side, not even considering regulations. But we weren’t building a commercial giant—we were fixing our own dirt roads. My hope was to learn here, then maybe do the same for other farmers in the future or maybe to find an underserved area to open a crushing business.

On February 11th, Grant County Development Services Director Jim and Deputy Director Michelle personally came out to inspect our ranch. They walked the ground with me and confirmed what every farmer in Eastern Washington knows: non-commercial, on-farm road maintenance is standard agricultural grading (GCC 23.12). Further, under Washington State law (RCW 78.44.031(17)(d)(iv)), excavating and grading aggregate strictly for on-site farm road construction or maintenance is explicitly exempt from industrial surface mining permit requirements. They gave us the green light. No commercial mining permit needed.

Then, everything changed.

1. The “Crime”: Expressing Frustration with State Laws

Last month, frustrated by state-level growth management and environmental regulations, I wrote a late-night post critiquing state land-use rules. In that exact post, I went out of my way to compliment Grant County staff for their professionalism.

But Director Jim took my critique of state law as a personal insult.

He wrote a public, multi-paragraph counter-post accusing me of being a liar. But he didn’t stop there. Jim took the deliberate step of PINNING his public attack against me to the top of his personal Facebook profile, where it still was displayed as of yesterday (he has blocked me now I think).

Ask yourself: When was the last time a senior county department head pinned a public attack against a private local citizen to the top of his social media page?

2. The Retaliation: A 180-Degree Regulatory Reversal

After Jim pinned his public attack against me, Development Services executed a complete 180-degree reversal on our farm.

Suddenly, our routine agricultural road repairs were reclassified as an “Industrial Surface Mine.”

The county is now demanding an 18-to-24-month, $200,000+ Mineral Resource Overlay (MRO) and Conditional Use Permit (CUP) process—the exact same bureaucratic process required for massive, commercial rock quarries.

I spoke directly with veteran local rock-crushing professionals who have operated in Grant County for decades. Their response was shock: No farmer in Grant County history crushing rock on their own land under 3 acres for private farm roads has EVER been required to get an Industrial Mining Permit. This is reserved for commercial big pits.

Dozens of farmers across Grant County crush rock and maintain their farm roads every single day without county interference. Why is my ranch being singled out for a multiyear and hundreds of thousands of dollars permit???

3. The Human Cost: A Family Home Frozen & $11,000 Lost

This isn’t just about rock crushing anymore. The hostility generated by this public attack has created a toxic environment:

Our Family Home is Frozen: Local biological consultants have ghosted or flatly refused to bid on our house permit out of fear of getting caught in county crossfire. My wife and five children are left waiting in limbo on a single-family home permit.

Calculated Financial Pain: When I warned the county legal department that I had hard, non-refundable $11,000 deadlines to transport a cone crusher this week, county officials intentionally stonewalled and delayed replying until AFTER those non-refundable costs were incurred. If they are going to use their power to stop me, I was going to ask the billion dollar mining company I bought my new-to-me cone crusher from to take it back in exchange for a $3-5,000 cancellation fee. Beyond that, I now have a bunch of very old rock crushing equipment that I have spent nearly half a million dollars on that is very hard to resell or to move.

This is a classic case of administrative retaliation. If you dare to speak up or criticize government overreach, a powerful non-elected official can try to crush your business, freeze your home build, and bleed you dry with arbitrary rules.

I have appealed this with other county officials, but was told by the prosecutor assigned to help Jim that my claims have no merit. I have repeatedly asked for phone calls or for them to help me work something out. Crickets.

Think about this: my tax dollars pay all of these people’s salaries, and I am just trying to farm, build a house, and build farm roads in peace. Yet I have the extreme intimidation of the Director of Planning for the county coming after me personally, and now he has a prosecutor by his side. It is terrifying. But if no one stands up to our repressive government, our children will never even have a chance.

4. We Need Clean Government in Grant County

I am not afraid to speak up, and I am not afraid to defend my family’s constitutional rights. I don’t want a public fight, and I don’t want ongoing litigation. I simply want to be treated identically to every other farmer in Grant County.

We need our elected leaders—like Commissioner Rob Jones and the Board of County Commissioners—to step in, hold non-elected department heads accountable, and stop this personal abuse of power.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

SHARE THIS POST: Expose how administrative overreach is being used against local landowners in Grant County.

TAG YOUR NEIGHBORS & FARMERS: If you are a Grant County farmer or property owner who believes in equal treatment under the law, let your voice be heard in the comments.

CONTACT THE COMMISSIONERS: Respectfully ask the Grant County Board of Commissioners to confirm that on-farm agricultural road maintenance remains standard agricultural grading for ALL farmers—not just the ones who stay silent.

Equal protection under the law isn’t a privilege granted by bureaucrats—it is a constitutional right. I am facing massive financial and personal losses. I am at the absolute end of my rope and I am incandescent with rage.