The legalization of ganja is the most significant legislation and public policy created in the past 40 years. It rivals the impact of the voter-enacted Prop 13, which revolutionized (in more ways than one) property taxes in this state.

As I’ve said many times before, no one lives in this county who is not affected economically by marijuana. And that’s true for both the private and public sectors of the economy.

It’s now apparent the state should have retained sole control of the marijuana legalization process. With counties and cities creating stand-alone ordinances, there is no uniformity or consistency to a statewide law that legalizes marijuana. Can you imagine the disorder and bedlam in this state if the highly regulated alcohol industry were instead subject to local control by counties and cities each with its own separate and uniquely distinct sets of regulations?

Counties and cities just don’t have the appropriate resources, funding or “can do” to administer and enforce their cannabis ordinances.

I’ve been warning cannabis farmers, who aren’t happy with Mendocino County pot rules, not to forget that the state is still in the process of rolling out its regulatory framework. They are going to be for a surprise when the whole package is finalized shortly.

This may be an example of one case where local control is not the best answer.

For example, my boss at the Laytonville County Water District is on the State Water Resource Control Board (State Water Board). On Oct. 17, the State Water Board Water Board adopted a new statewide policy establishing strict environmental standards for cannabis cultivation in order to protect water flows and water quality in California’s rivers and streams. The new regulations and programs address the not-so-friendly watershed practices of too many cultivators.

Underpinning Water Board’s regulatory framework is the realization that commercial cannabis cultivation is expected to grow significantly and spread to new areas of the state following adult use legalization.

“We are establishing the environmental protection rules of the road needed to deal with the expected expansion of cannabis cultivation statewide,” said State Water Board Chair Felicia Marcus. “Our action creates a strict set of rules cannabis cultivators will need to follow in order to protect water quality and quantity. We will work closely with other state agencies to make sure cultivators are aware of these rules and are following them.”

They are taking a tough, no-nonsense approach to regulating and enforcing a law that was premised on statewide public demand to protect fragile public resources that all too often were savaged and ravaged by cannabis cultivators. In sharp contrast to Mendocino County and other local governments throughout the state, it is encouraging that the State Water Board is taking its job seriously when it comes to strict enforcement of its regulations.

The Board also relied on numerous reports and studies regarding the impacts of cultivation on watersheds. Here’s a staff report discussing watersheds in Mendocino and Humboldt counties:

“Cannabis cultivation has been increasing … A recent CDFW study (2015), using aerial surveys of four small watersheds in Humboldt and Mendocino counties found that the number of acres in cannabis cultivation doubled from 2009 to 2012, with an estimated 500 individual operations and approximately 30,000 plants in each of these small watersheds. The study concluded that water demand for cannabis cultivation has the potential to divert substantial portions of streamflow in the studied watersheds, with an estimated flow reduction of up to 23 percent of the annual seven-day low flow in the least impacted of the studied watersheds. Estimates from the other study watersheds indicate that water demand for cannabis cultivation exceeds the streamflow during the low-flow period. In the most impacted watersheds, diminished streamflow is likely to: have lethal or sub-lethal effects on state- and federally-listed salmon and steelhead trout; and cause further decline of sensitive amphibian species. The 2015 CDFW study concluded that cannabis cultivation on private land has grown so much in the North Coast region that Coho salmon, a federal and state listed endangered species, may go extinct in the near future if the impacts of cannabis cultivation are not addressed immediately. Rare (listed) and sensitive species affected by water diversion for cannabis cultivation in the North Coast region include: Coho salmon; Chinook salmon; steelhead trout; coastal cutthroat trout; southern torrent salamander; red legged frog; northern spotted owl; and Pacific fisher. Other species throughout the state such as deer, bear, and various birds are also being harmed by cannabis cultivation-related impacts to streams.”

The new regulations address cannabis cultivation practices that need certain measures to protect water quality such as: Streams and wetland management; Water diversion, storage, and use; Irrigation runoff; Fertilizer, chemical, and soil use and storage. The regulations also address water diversion and use to ensure cannabis cultivation does not affect water flows needed for fish, and maintains and protects aquatic habitat and resources. The rules set statewide flow requirements that may be modified as needed over time as more information becomes available on cannabis cultivation water demand.

Jim Shields is the Mendocino County Observer’s editor and publisher, and is also the long-time district manager of the Laytonville County Water District. Listen to his radio program “This and That” every Saturday at 12 noon on KPFN 105.1 FM, also streamed live: www.kpfn.org