Cannabis regulation comments due Sept. 30

This is an important deadline for residents of Calaveras County

Enterprise report / September 19, 2016

Calaveras County residents who want state authorities to consider particular issues as they draft regulations for cannabis farms should submit their comments to the California Department of Food and Agriculture by Sept. 30.

The agency is currently seeking to define the scope of issues to be considered as it prepares its Medical Cannabis Cultivation Program. The Medical Cannabis Regulation and Control Act adopted in 2015 set the process in motion. By 2018, state officials are expected to issue licenses to farms that meet standards, including that those farms comply with local rules such as the urgency ordinance currently in effect in Calaveras County.

Crystal Keesey is the owner of Eastside Environmental, an environmental consulting firm that, in recent years, has been contracted to help some cannabis farm owners come into compliance with state regulations governing issues such as water pollution.

She urges those living near cannabis farms to let state officials know their concerns. “This is our narrow window of opportunity to have a say in the regulations,” Keesey said. “Neighbor concerns are valid.”

Keesey said she is working with Calaveras County Board of Supervisors Chairman Cliff Edson to organize a public voter education event on Oct. 3 that will address the cannabis regulations. That, however, is after the close of the scoping comment period for the state agricultural regulations for cannabis.

“We just couldn’t pull together the voter education forum in time to get it within the comment period,” she said.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture is hosting a series of public hearings on the regulations. The closest one to Calaveras County was held Sept. 13 in Sacramento. Despite the substantial marijuana industry in Calaveras County, state officials held most of the hearings in coastal areas or in Southern California.

Topics that the regulations may address include aesthetics, forests, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, geology and soils, greenhouse gas emissions, hazardous materials, water quality, land use, mineral resources, housing, noise, recreation and whether there might be irreversible impacts from the farms.

Comments should be sent to the attention of Amber Morris, Medical Cannabis Cultivation Comments, 1220 N St., Suite 400, Sacramento, CA 95814 or by email to mccp.peir@cdfa.ca.gov. Put the phrase “Medical Cannabis Cultivation Program Comments.”

For more information on the state program, go to cdfa.ca.gov/is/mccp/.