BOARD OKS AMENDMENTS TO COUNTY’S HEMP ORDINANCE

Odor control and water regulation at industrial grow sites addressed

The Board of Supervisors last month signed off on several amendments to the Industrial Hemp Activities Ordinance enacted in 2020, ending litigation initiated by the Riverside County Farm Bureau stemming from “nuisance odors” and other conflicts with traditional agricultural cultivation.

The board voted 4-0 on April 26 — with Supervisor Chuck Washington absent — to accept and add amendments to Ordinance No. 348 derived from settlement negotiations between the Farm Bureau and county attorneys in February.

The county Planning Commission had recommended that the board adopt the amendments during its March 23 meeting.

The Industrial Hemp Activities Ordinance will now include provisions that specify the need for odor control at grow sites and that water regulators approve all on-site service requirements prior to a hemp grow starting operations.

The odor control component cites the need to minimize “nuisance odors” to prevent them from “significantly interfering with offsite land uses,” according to the revision.

The amendment largely takes aim at indoor cultivation, requiring filtration systems that contain emissions.

As to the water availability component tied to the settlement agreement, the new provision would strengthen the former one, clarifying that water purveyors issue a “will serve” letter establishing that sufficient supplies are available to support a hemp grow. The county Department of Environmental Health additionally would need to determine whether inground wells at cultivation sites meet quality control standards.

No other significant changes were proposed for the existing ordinance, which expressly prohibits hemp cultivation — indoor or outdoor — in large swaths of the Santa Margarita River Watershed, extending roughly from De Luz, just west of Temecula, east to Anza, south to the San Diego County line and north to Diamond Valley Lake near Hemet.

The main difference between hemp and unadulterated marijuana is the tetrahydrocannabinol — or THC — content. Hemp leaves have about three-tenths of 1 percent of the compounds contained in cannabis leaves, according to the Office of County Counsel.

Advocates of hemp production and research say its properties have proven benefits in treating some skin and heart disorders. It’s also used in clothing and other commercial applications.