ECOLAB INC. — Director's Dealing 2011

Aug 26, 2011

SEC Form 3 — Initial Statement of Beneficial Ownership

Issuer: ECOLAB INC (ECL)
CIK: 0000031462
Period of Report: 2011-08-23

Reporting Person: GATES WILLIAM H III (10% Owner, See Footnotes 1,2)
Reporting Person: CASCADE INVESTMENT LLC (See Remarks)

Holdings (Non-Derivative)

Security	Shares	Ownership
Common Stock	18829586.0000	Indirect

Footnotes

F1: For purposes of Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act, as amended (the "Act"), Mr. Gates, as the sole member of Cascade Investment, L.L.C. ("Cascade") and co-trustee of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust ("Trust"), may be deemed to beneficially own more than 10% of the common stock of the issuer. Mr. Gates has no pecuniary interest in the shares held by the Trust. Neither the filing of this Form 3 nor any of its contents shall be deemed an admission that Mr. Gates and any other person or persons constitute a "group" under Section 13(d) and Mr. Gates expressly disclaims membership in a group.

F2: For purposes of Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act, as amended (the "Act"), Cascade may be deemed to be a member of a "group" that beneficially owns more than 10% of the common stock of the issuer. Neither the filing of this Form 3 nor any of its contents shall be deemed an admission that Cascade and any other person or persons constitute a "group" under Section 13(d) or is otherwise subject to Section 16 of the Act and Cascade expressly disclaims membership in a group.