A rancher in Washington state will fork over $50,000 to the Environmental Protection Agency and fix the damage from an illegal dam he built, the federal agency said.

Rancher Brock Maslonka’s earthen dam, which has yet to be removed, was installed in September 2015, spanning 200 feet in length and 100 feet in width. The dam, on the Perkins Slough tributary of the Pend Oreille River, was constructed without a Clean Water Act permit from the Army Corps of Engineers, the EPA said.

The EPA first received complaints about the dam in 2017, although problems began earlier than that. A civil complaint later filed by the Justice Department stated that the dam had caused the flooding of Washington State Route 20 in early 2016, according to the Spokesman-Review newspaper.

Mr. Maslonka, of Spokane, contended in a responding court filing that the dam was for irrigation of his property and to prevent the Pend Oreille River from inundating it, according to the Spokesman-Review.

The dam, the EPA said in its announcement of the agreement Thursday, lowered water quality, made the tributary murkier and disrupted the life cycles of the Perkins Slough ecosystem by inhibiting movement.

After the EPA failed to reach an agreement with Mr. Maslonka, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in 2020. The two sides reached an agreement in July.

In addition to the penalty, Mr. Maslonka is required to remove the dam and complete ecosystemic restoration of the area where it was by June 15, 2024. Restoration includes planting native plants near the Perkins Slough and keeping the habitat pristine in the future through the use of deed restrictions.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.