SEC FORM 4

SEC Form 4

FORM 4

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person^*

LEWIS DIANA D

(Last)

(First)

(Middle)

ECOLAB INC.

370 WABASHA STREET N.

(Street)

ST. PAUL

55102

(City)

(State)

(Zip)

2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
ECOLAB INC [ ECL ]

5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)

	Director	10% Owner
X	Officer (give title below)	Other (specify below)
	SVP - Human Resources

3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
04/30/2004

4. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year)

6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)

X	Form filed by One Reporting Person
	Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1. Title of Security (Instr. 3)	2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed Of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)			5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4)	6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
1. Title of Security (Instr. 3)	2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	Code	V	Amount	(A) or (D)	Price		6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
Common Stock	04/30/2004		M		23,600	A	$5.484	80,807.704	D
Common Stock	04/30/2004		S		23,600	D	$29.75	57,207.704	D
Common Stock								11,186.645⁽¹⁾	I	By Employee Stock Plan

Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)	2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)		6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		7. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 3 and 4)		8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)	9. Number of derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)	10. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)	2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	Code	V	(A)	(D)	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares	8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)		10. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy)	$5.484	04/30/2004		M			23,600	08/19/1995⁽²⁾	08/19/2004	Common Stock	23,600	$0.00	0	D

Explanation of Responses:

1. Number of UNITS in the Ecolab Stock Fund of the Ecolab Savings Plan (401(k) Plan) as of March 31, 2004. Includes 189.956 UNITS acquired since the reporting person's last report. (The 11,186.645 UNITS are the equivalent of approximately 20,117.16 shares of the issuer's Common Stock.)

2. The option was previously reported as covering 11,800 shares at an exercise price of $10.96875 per share, but was adjusted to reflect a 2-for-1 stock split on June 6, 2003. The option was granted under the Ecolab Inc. 1993 Stock Incentive Plan on August 19, 1994 and became exercisable in equal increments on the first through fourth anniversaries of the date of grant.

	/s/Timothy P. Dordell, Attorney-in-Fact for Diana D. Lewis	05/03/2004
	** Signature of Reporting Person	Date
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4 (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).
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