Pubdate: Sun, 04 Aug 2013
Source: Chico Enterprise-Record (CA)
Copyright: 2013 Chico Enterprise-Record
Contact:  http://www.chicoer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/861

STATE AGENCY MUST DO ITS JOB

Apparently it's like the wild, wild West in the foothills of Butte
County. It's time for public officials to exert some control.

Local authorities are getting some inconsistent, nonsensical answers
from the state government over possible environmental degradation
occurring in the Butte County foothills as a result of large-scale
marijuana farms.

It's time to get everybody in a room and talk because the
proclamations and explanations aren't making sense.

That's just what will happen Wednesday, thanks to a not-so-subtle
nudge from state Assemblyman Dan Logue, R-Loma Rica.

It all started when the Butte County Board of Supervisors asked the
state's Water Quality Control Board to help protect waterways from the
effects of large marijuana plantations, which includes illegal
grading, siltation in streams and rivers, and runoff of chemicals and
other poisons used on the crop.

The state agency said it wouldn't put its enforcement officials in
harm's way because pot farmers are often armed and dangerous. That
drew an incredulous response from Bill Connelly, the Oroville-area
county supervisor, who was justifiably miffed that water quality
officials would crack down on farmers and timber companies but not pot
growers.

It also drew a response from Logue, who offered help from the local
Sheriff's Office or the National Guard if necessary.

After a story ran last week in the Enterprise-Record and
Mercury-Register, the Associated Press picked up the story and added
this interesting tidbit: While the Water Quality Control Board
representing our region said it wouldn't investigate pot farms, the
Water Quality Control Board representing the North Coast said it
routinely investigates and writes citations for pot farms. So the same
state agency has different policies, apparently depending on who's
running the region. That's ridiculous.

Logue has set up a meeting Wednesday in Sacramento, where Logue,
Connelly and representatives of the Governor's Office, Butte County
Sheriff's Office and State Water Board will all be in the same room.
They need to sift through this nonsense, and quickly.

We're hearing too many stories of residents and recreationists not
feeling safe in the foothills. The arrests made at illegal pot farms
in Butte County frequently involve growers from other cities, states
and countries, all attracted by the anything-goes mentality and a lack
of enforcement to put a stop to it.

The county is trying to get a handle on this problem. The state and
federal governments need to do their part.
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MAP posted-by: Matt