"They Did What?"

CA Cultivators Faces a Potential $209,000 For Failing To Get A Permit

The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board signed a complaint against three cannabis cultivators in Humboldt County in connection with sediment discharged into tributaries of the Mad River that posed a risk to water quality and aquatic life, they are facing $209,687 in potential fines.

Photo looking downstream at the road crossing an unnamed tributary to the Mad River on the Szagora LLC property. The existing culvert is too small and does not meet industry sizing standards. Thus, when the stream is running full, water can flood the road and carry road material and fine sediment back into the waterways. Fine sediment can make it difficult for fish to breathe, find food and refuge, and reproduce. [Photographs provided by the North Coast Waterboard]

The Notice of Violation alleges the cultivators failed to obtain a permit to legally cultivate cannabis and did not respond to an enforcement order requiring them to maintain an access road on their property consistent with industry standards designed to protect water quality and beneficial uses. “By failing to obtain a required permit, follow industry standards and adequately respond to an enforcement order, the unlicensed cultivators gained an unfair advantage over legal cultivators,” said Claudia E. Villacorta, assistant executive officer. “But more importantly, they put a waterway at risk.”

If you are going to operate, know what is required for permitting and other regulatory guidelines. If you plan to not follow protocols, then plan to be shut down and potentially fined. Do you homework regarding what is required for a specific type of cannabis license. It pays to document.

CA Cultivators Faces a Potential $209,000 For Failing To Get A Permit