The Washington Department of Ecology plans to adopt a policy stating that livestock owners whose animals drink from a creek need a water right.

The pending policy has alarmed farmers and ranchers, who accuse Ecology of attacking agriculture and rewriting water law without the public’s or Legislature’s involvement.

Washington State Dairy Federation policy director Jay Gordon called it an “ill conceived train wreck of an idea.”

“This is a massive sea change,” he said. “It’s affecting massive numbers of people around the state.”

The policy — neither a law nor a regulation — will guide Ecology’s advice to landowners and responses to complaints about livestock.

The policy may be in place by the end of the year and will apply to all surface waters, including lakes, ponds, rivers and wetlands. The state’s definition of livestock includes horses, goats, sheep, swine, poultry, alpacas and other domesticated species.

Ecology’s policy lead Kasey Cykler said the department wants to clarify that the state’s water code, adopted in 1917, requires Ecology to appropriate water for beneficial use.

“Really, it’s black and white, a water right is required and always has been,” she said. “We can’t have a policy in direct conflict with the law.”

Ecology’s interpretation of the 104-year-old code caught farm groups off-guard. In a written response, the Washington Farm Bureau contends Ecology is changing the law.

The Farm Bureau points to a 1969 law that commits Ecology to leaving enough water in streams, lakes and other public bodies for livestock to drink.

The law forbids an “unconscionable waste” of water, but doesn’t mention needing a water right.

In 1994, Ecology adopted a policy encouraging livestock owners to get their animals away from streams by diverting water.

Ecology and farm groups agree the policy improved water quality, as livestock owners learned to pump small amounts of water from streams and ditches to troughs.

By amending the policy to explicitly require a water right, Ecology will halt that work, the Skagit Conservation District warns in written comments to the department.

Landowners likely will still water livestock from streams, legal or not, but conservation districts won’t be able to help them get their animals from the water’s edge, according to the district.

With livestock less distributed, water quality, soil health and wildlife habitat will suffer, the district states.

In a parting thought, the district says that needing a water right will be a blow to young, minority and immigrant farmers.

Northeast Washington cattleman Lorren Hagen said most ranchers in the region don’t have water rights and didn’t think they needed them.

“We have a tremendous amount of small streams,” he said. “The best grazing is in areas with lots of water.”

In lieu of a water right, livestock owners might be able to drill wells. State law allows drawing groundwater for livestock without a water right. But with readily available streams, it doesn’t make sense to tap the aquifer, Hagen said.

He predicted the policy will be a hammer, whether swung by Ecology or activists, to get cattle off the land. Cattlemen should prepare for court, he said. “You can’t let this one go.”

Ecology has not yet responded to the comments it received about the policy, nor has it issued any statement on whether the revised policy will discourage water-quality projects.

“We do appreciate and understand a lot of hard work has been undertaken by farmers and ranchers and hobby farmers to get and keep their waters out of streams,” Cykler said.