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North Coast board speeds cannabis cleanup actions, advances vineyard and roads orders
Summary
North Coast staff outlined a new strategy to expedite cleanup and penalty assessments at cannabis cultivation sites, and previewed draft waste discharge requirements for commercial vineyards, a regulatory approach for Easter‑lily bulb cultivation addressing copper toxicity, and a pilot roads order for a watershed under a TMDL settlement.
North Coast Regional Water Board staff told the statewide convening they have new enforcement and permitting strategies to tackle recurring water‑quality threats from three problem areas: illegal and noncompliant cannabis cultivation, irrigated‑land discharges from vineyards and other crops, and road‑related sediment sources.
Staff said routine enforcement against illegal cannabis cultivation had been labor intensive and slow, often taking months to issue cleanup and abatement orders and administrative civil liability complaints. To accelerate results, staff described a new strategy that prioritizes expedited cleanup-and‑abatement orders where remedial actions are simple and documented with a short template, quicker penalty assessments for egregious discharges, and use of time‑schedule orders where feasible to obtain faster cleanup. The board has scheduled its first time‑schedule order under this strategy for a cannabis site.
On agricultural permits, staff said a vineyard-specific NPDES/WDR order is nearing board consideration. The proposed order would require enrollment in watersheds with large vineyard footprints and would focus on sediment and temperature controls while also incorporating statewide irrigated‑lands elements from the East San Joaquin order. Staff noted Central Coast experience with voluntary sustainability programs and said the new order tries to balance site complexity, existing voluntary actions, and enforceable requirements.
North Coast staff also described a unique order being developed for Easter‑lily bulb cultivation in the Smith River Plain where copper toxicity to aquatic life is the principal concern and community pesticide questions are prominent. That permit is being coordinated with the county agricultural commissioner, DPR and OEHHA to address cross‑jurisdictional public concerns.
Finally, staff described a settlement that requires the region to develop a watershed action plan and a roads order for the Wallowa River watershed under a long‑standing sediment TMDL. The proposed roads order would require owners of rural roads above a certain acreage threshold to inventory and treat erosion sources. Staff said the approach starts in one watershed as a pilot but may inform wider region‑wide road programs because roads are the largest sediment sources in many parts of the North Coast.
Staff asked stakeholders for early engagement as orders are refined and said the enforcement shift for cannabis will seek faster cleanup while reserving the board’s statutory discretion for penalties and longer‑term actions where necessary.
