Ownership Submission
FORM 3
 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
  Beck Christophe
 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)
08/25/2009		 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
ECOLAB INC [ECL]
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
370 WABASHA STREET NORTH		 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
_____ Director _____ 10% Owner
__X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
Executive V.P., Instit. NA
 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
(Street)

SAINT PAUL, MN 55102		 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned
(Instr. 4)		 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Common Stock 8,075
D
 
Common Stock 112.252 (1)
I
By Ecolab Savings Plan

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)		 3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy) 06/01/2008(2) 06/01/2017 Common Stock 37,000 $ 43.065 D  
Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy) 12/05/2008(2) 12/05/2017 Common Stock 32,300 $ 49.42 D  
Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy) 12/03/2009(2) 12/03/2018 Common Stock 45,900 $ 35.63 D  

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
Director 10% Owner Officer Other
Beck Christophe
370 WABASHA STREET NORTH
SAINT PAUL, MN 55102		       Executive V.P., Instit. NA  

Signatures

David F. Duvick, as Attorney-In-Fact for Christophe Beck 09/02/2009
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) Number of UNITS in the Ecolab Stock Fund of the Ecolab Savings Plan (401(k) Plan) as of July 31, 2009. (The 112.252 UNITS are the equivalent of approximately 210 shares of the issuer's Common Stock.)
(2) Options granted under the Ecolab Inc. 2005 Stock Incentive Plan. Each option becomes exercisable, on a cumulative basis, as to to one-third of the option shares (excluding any fractional portion less than one share) on each of the first and second anniversaries of the date of grant and as to the remaining shares on the third anniversary of the date of grant; provided, however, that if a Change in Control (as that term is defined in the 2005 Plan) of the Company occurs, then the option, if it has been outstanding for at least six months from the date of grant, will become immediately exercisable in full. The date listed in the "Date Exercisable" column is the one year anniversary of the date of grant (i.e., the date when the first one-third of the shares became exercisable).

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