Water cut to 12 Richland Airport hangars. City says connections were illegal
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- City cut and capped a single unauthorized connection serving about 12 airport hangars.
- City discovered hangars water lines connections while testing fire hydrants in early 2025.
- Port commission faces recall efforts linked to the controversy.
One year after the city of Richland detected illegal utility hookups at the Richland Airport, officials have cut off and capped the unauthorized connections.
The shutoff involves 12 privately-owned airplane hangars on leased land at the Port of Benton-owned airport. They are generally clustered along Butler Loop.
The city discovered that some hangars had connected to water lines when it tested the area fire hydrant system in early 2025.
The port subsequently hired a contractor to map all utilities at the airport, leading to the discovery of about a dozen unpermitted connections.
The city confirmed in a statement to the Tri-City Herald that it physically cut off a single connection serving approximately 12 hangars.
“After providing affected property owners with notice, corrective action instructions, and an opportunity to comply, city water division staff completed work to cut and cap the unauthorized connections,” the city said in a statement released by spokeswoman Hollie Alexander.
No hangar owners complied with the city’s request to apply for permits, Alexander said in a follow-up comment.
Ron Branine, interim executive director for the Port of Benton, did not respond to a request for comment on the city’s actions.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating if any crimes were committed. Richland police previously said they could not investigate since the city is a potential victim.
The general aviation airport off Highway 240 in Richland caters to regional business aviation customers and has two paved runways and helipads.
April 2025 inspection
The unpermitted water connections involved links to two systems, one supplying water to fire hydrants and the other delivering city water.
Diahann Howard, the port’s suspended executive director, publicly disclosed the situation to the board at a May 2025 commission meeting.
The hookups included a hangar owned by Scott Keller, the former port executive director and now a current port commissioner.
Keller was still working as the port’s top official in 2017 when he purchased a hangar in 2017 knowing the water connection was unmetered. At the time, he instructed staff members to work with the city to address the situation, though it appears nothing changed.
In 2025, Keller was advised by port staff to address the situation.
The port subsequently created a committee to look into the water meter issue. The committee’s meetings are not public. Its findings have not been publicized.
However, port leaders have suggested the port agreed to provide water to hangar tenants, citing a 1999 letter from Herb Brayton to Keller, then the airport’s manager, about the cost to extend utilities to the hangars. No other documents showing that happened have been made public.
Basis for recall effort
The water connection issue is one of the reasons behind efforts to recall Keller and fellow commissioners, Bill O’Neil and Lori Stevens, from office.
It’s unclear if Keller’s hangar is one of the hangars that was cut off from city water.
Citizens for a Better Port initiated recall efforts earlier this year, when the commission suspended Executive Director Diahann Howard pending an investigation, and sidestepped findings of an outside investigation into allegations of wrongdoing by Keller.
The port hired the law firm Schwabe Williamson and Wyatt to investigate 24 allegations in two complaints filed by former Commissioner Roy Keck and compiled by Howard. The firm found four of the claims had merit.
O’Neil and Stevens censured Keller for violating port policies but took no action on the more serious allegations that he broke state laws around gifts of public funds.
Benton County Superior Court Judge Diana Ruff has allowed the recall to proceed on limited grounds concerning Howard’s suspension.
But the port commission has asked the Washington State Supreme Court to block the recall, and that decision is pending.
It put its own investigation into Howard and her claims of retaliation on hold pending the court’s decision. Howard remains suspended is still listed as executive director on the port’s website.
The port previously released a 20-page report by consultant Eileen Griffin-Ray, who was hired to evaluate the agency’s organizational structure. She said the port “is in desperate need of structure, order, and leadership.”
The report did not identify individuals by name, but described widespread leadership failures and a “culture of retaliation” within the organization.
The port operates airports in Richland Prosser, as well as operates a barge terminal, the Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center and numerous business parks and Crow Butte Park.
The port has 22 employees and a $26 million annual budget.
This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 2:32 PM.