Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors heard a presentation from the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board on Tuesday regarding their policies and programs related to cannabis cultivation in California and how it relates to water resources.
A PowerPoint presentation was given by NCRWQCB Executive Director Matt St. John, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Lieutenant DeWayne Little, Central Valley Regional Water Control Board Environmental Program Manager Erin Ragazzi and State Water Board Office of Enforcement Senior Staff Counsel Yvonne West.
The presentation first outlined the issues that marijuana cultivation poses to water resources, including illegal and poorly designed grading, diversion of surface water and runoff impacts. Products of cultivation can also contaminate water supplies and adversely impact fisheries and wildlife. These include sediment, nutrients, fertilizers, household garbage and cultivation wastes.
Large scale grading can cause habitat fragmentation, while improper use of heavy equipment can lead to damage of stream and wetland habitat.
The water board and DFW have partnered to develop a four pronged pilot strategy to combat the issues. The approach entails interagency coordination, regulatory order development and implementation, education and outreach, and enforcement. The agencies have been employing the strategy for a little over two years.
The regulatory orders establish standard conditions related to water quality and conservation measures. A tiered system has been established for classifying water quality threats; tier 1 involves low threats, tier 2, water quality management issues and tier 3, clean up. The tiered system makes it easier for the agencies to take action on threats to the environment. When conducting site inspections, violators are generally provided with notice of their infractions so they have a chance to correct problems.
One of the regulatory measures set for cultivators is a forbearance period in times of drought, during which they are not allowed to divert any water for cultivation purposes. Flow requirements are imposed during diversion periods.
The presentation provided statistics from inspections conducted on cultivation sites in California thus far. Ninety-five percent of sites using surface water had water rights violations. Where water quality was concerned, 25 percent of sites had no violations, 25 percent had significant violations and 50 percent had one or more moderate violations.
The goal of the interim enforcement guidelines is to be easily understood and enforceable. Next year, a draft policy will be released with permanent principles and guidelines for cultivators. This will be available for public review for a 60 day period from March through May of 2017.
The state water board will hold a meeting for proposed principles and guidelines. Comments on this may be directed to the SWB through Oct. 7 by emailing cannabisWR@waterboards.ca.gov. More information can be found at waterboards.ca.gov/cannabis.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Water Boards Update Siskiyou On Pot Policies
Author: Staff
Contact: editor@siskiyoudaily.com
Photo Credit: Danielle Jester
Website: The Siskiyou Daily News
A PowerPoint presentation was given by NCRWQCB Executive Director Matt St. John, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Lieutenant DeWayne Little, Central Valley Regional Water Control Board Environmental Program Manager Erin Ragazzi and State Water Board Office of Enforcement Senior Staff Counsel Yvonne West.
The presentation first outlined the issues that marijuana cultivation poses to water resources, including illegal and poorly designed grading, diversion of surface water and runoff impacts. Products of cultivation can also contaminate water supplies and adversely impact fisheries and wildlife. These include sediment, nutrients, fertilizers, household garbage and cultivation wastes.
Large scale grading can cause habitat fragmentation, while improper use of heavy equipment can lead to damage of stream and wetland habitat.
The water board and DFW have partnered to develop a four pronged pilot strategy to combat the issues. The approach entails interagency coordination, regulatory order development and implementation, education and outreach, and enforcement. The agencies have been employing the strategy for a little over two years.
The regulatory orders establish standard conditions related to water quality and conservation measures. A tiered system has been established for classifying water quality threats; tier 1 involves low threats, tier 2, water quality management issues and tier 3, clean up. The tiered system makes it easier for the agencies to take action on threats to the environment. When conducting site inspections, violators are generally provided with notice of their infractions so they have a chance to correct problems.
One of the regulatory measures set for cultivators is a forbearance period in times of drought, during which they are not allowed to divert any water for cultivation purposes. Flow requirements are imposed during diversion periods.
The presentation provided statistics from inspections conducted on cultivation sites in California thus far. Ninety-five percent of sites using surface water had water rights violations. Where water quality was concerned, 25 percent of sites had no violations, 25 percent had significant violations and 50 percent had one or more moderate violations.
The goal of the interim enforcement guidelines is to be easily understood and enforceable. Next year, a draft policy will be released with permanent principles and guidelines for cultivators. This will be available for public review for a 60 day period from March through May of 2017.
The state water board will hold a meeting for proposed principles and guidelines. Comments on this may be directed to the SWB through Oct. 7 by emailing cannabisWR@waterboards.ca.gov. More information can be found at waterboards.ca.gov/cannabis.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Water Boards Update Siskiyou On Pot Policies
Author: Staff
Contact: editor@siskiyoudaily.com
Photo Credit: Danielle Jester
Website: The Siskiyou Daily News
