Ecology settles with North Whidbey landowners over ditches built to drain wetland
Published 1:30 am Friday, October 31, 2025
An Oak Harbor couple who were fined by the Washington State Department of Ecology for installing unpermitted ditches to drain a wetland reached a settlement with the state.
Under the agreement, the state withdraws a $120,000 fine levied in 2024 against Christopher Whiteman and Victoria Coury while they agreed to donate $10,000 to the nonprofit Whidbey Camano Land Trust to help restore and conserve wetlands across Whidbey Island, according to Ecology. The property owners already filled in the drainage ditches on the North Whidbey property and also agreed to a restoration plan for the southern acre to restore natural functions.
“We feel the settlement agreement is fair, halts further litigation, will fully restore damaged wetlands at the site, and invests in critical efforts to protect and preserve wetlands in Island County,” Curt Hart, communications manager for the Department of Ecology, said in an email.
Whiteman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Even without the giant fine, it’s been a long, expensive process for the couple, who are both teachers with the Oak Harbor School District. In an earlier interview, Whiteman said he didn’t intend to drain wetlands by putting in the drainage ditches but that he was trying to prevent agricultural land from flooding because a stream was blocked on another property.
Also, Whiteman said he was in the process of removing the ditches when the fine was announced.
Ecology officials, on the other hand, claimed that the couple’s real intention was to drain an existing wetland in order to build a house on property that had earlier failed a perk test, according to court documents.
In Washington, wetlands are protected by state law and cannot be drained, filled or modified without prior authorization from Ecology — which Whiteman did not get. Wetlands play a critical role in recharging aquifers and filtering pollutants from runoff, a press release states.
The couple appealed to the state Pollution Control Hearings Board and Island County Superior Court, but lost both times. They then appealed to the state Court of Appeals.
The Appellate Court didn’t hear the case because both sides entered into mediated talks and resolved the issue with the settlement.
“This agreement is important because it settles the dispute and avoids the costs and time associated with further litigation,” Hart wrote.
The state contends that the original fine wasn’t about penalizing the couple.
According to the communications manager, the primary goal of the 2023 state administrative order and then the 2024 penalty “was to halt the damage being done to the wetlands in question, and ensure actions were taken to help keep further degradation from occurring.”
