Hundreds of cannabis cultivators in one of the most storied growing regions worldwide may now have a path to securing a long-term future in California’s licensed market.
The California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) announced Oct. 17 that it certified an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) in Mendocino County, removing a longstanding barrier that has prevented cultivators from transitioning from provisional to annual licensure.
To date, 476 of 535 active cultivation licenses in Mendocino County, or 89%, are still listed as provisional, according to the DCC’s licensing database. This puts the livelihoods of small farmers in the region at risk amid a quickly approaching deadline.
Under the current statutory timeline, the DCC cannot renew provisional licensure beyond Jan. 1, 2025, and those license holders must convert to annual licensure by Jan. 1, 2026, or face a forced market exit.
“Our goal has always been clear: to support those who helped build California’s cannabis industry through a licensing program that is environmentally conscious and legally sound,” DCC Director Nicole Elliott said in a release provided to Cannabis Business Times. “With the EIR certified, we’re one step closer to keeping Mendocino’s pioneering cannabis spirit alive.”
EIRs are often generated to document any environmental impacts associated with site-specific reviews that are mandated under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). These reports include detailed information on potential environmental effects, measures to mitigate those effects, and an analysis of alternatives to a project, according to the state’s Lands Commission.
These reviews can help protect sensitive species, natural waterways and air quality, among other environmental impacts from development projects. But site-specific reviews for cannabis operators to ensure CEQA compliance are often time-consuming and complicated.
In Mendocino County, the majority of licensed cannabis cultivators have been at a standstill in becoming CEQA-compliant due to local regulations. Specifically, Mendocino County officials stood up their cannabis program before California’s state licensing framework was in place and it did not align with state mandates for site-specific CEQA reviews, Origins Council Executive Director Genine Coleman previously told CBT.
Origins Council is a nonprofit that advocates for roughly 900 small, independent cannabis businesses and homestead farming families, primarily in the rural areas of Northern California.
“Because the state requires a site-specific discretionary review of every single project in order to qualify for the state license and CEQA compliance, Mendocino County essentially didn’t have a system to satisfy the state licensing requirements,” Coleman said.
While the DCC allocated nearly $17.6 million in grant funding to Mendocino County in early 2022 to assist local leaders in the permitting process, the licensing logjam persisted. This came as the county’s cannabis cultivators were stuck navigating constant changes under three different regulatory departments and six department heads following Mendocino’s initial program rollout under Proposition 64.
Eventually, county officials forfeited their oversight of that grant funding back to the DCC, allowing the department to intervene and streamline the licensing process.
Now with a certified EIR in place, the development of site-specific environment documents becomes much less onerous than it would have been otherwise, paving that pathway for Mendocino County cannabis cultivators to become CEQA-compliant and obtain annual licensure.
“This project is a testament to what’s possible when legal operators and local and state government work together towards addressing California Environmental Quality Act requirements and focus on meeting an important objective,” Mo Mulheren, chair of the Mendocino Board of Supervisors, said in the DCC release.
“The solution developed and implemented by the Department of Cannabis Control and Mendocino County makes it possible for legacy cultivators to focus on what they do best—growing high-quality cannabis legally by eliminating the final roadblocks,” Mulheren said.
While the roadblocks are clear, there’s still a time crunch that plays into the equation. Some state-mandated biological surveys and studies are seasonal and would need to happen in the spring. In other words, the provisional licensing cliff persists for many growers depending on when their permits are up for renewal.
With the EIR now certified, however, the DCC will continue reviewing individual annual license applications and preparing addenda to support the ongoing transition of licensees in Mendocino County. The department expects the first license transitions resulting from the newly certified EIR to occur later this month.
The Department of Cannabis Control certified an Environmental Impact Report in the county, removing a longstanding licensing barrier. Read More