Supervisors repeal cannabis ordinance; no license application for Potter Valley Project

February 2, 2022 — The Board of Supervisors repealed two cannabis policies yesterday, which was also almost the first time cannabis has been included in the crop report. The facilities ordinance was repealed without comment on the consent calendar, after a legal challenge from the Willits Environmental Center about the ordinance’s compliance with the state’s environmental regulations. The board also terminated the moratorium on phase three cannabis cultivation permits. Cannabis advocates expressed measured optimism, saying that would-be permitted growers have been waiting years to apply, but pointing out that many applicants from earlier phases have spent those years in the application process. The state is stepping in with some funds. Cannabis program director Kristin Nevedal announced that the state approved the county’s application for a $17 million grant to help applicants meet environmental requirements. Another $2.9 million in equity grant funding has also been bestowed on the county. Nevedal added that she does not expect the state to claw back the $2.2 million of equity grant money it awarded the county in 2020, as long as applicants have their documents in by the end of the month. In a non-cannabis related development, supervisors unanimously agreed to allocate another $50,000 to the Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission for expenses related to the Potter Valley Project. The agenda, which was published last week, specified that the money would be used to continue working toward the potential licensing of the project. PG&E, which owns and operates it, is not renewing its license, and only one group has expressed an interest in taking it over. The Inland Water and Power Commission is a five-member joint powers association that is one member of a larger group, called the Notice of Intent Parties, which has been trying to get the money together to fund the necessary studies to apply for the project license. Just yesterday, the group informed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that it will not file a final license application. The letter to FERC says that since November, the group has received two grants from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Department of Water Resources to evaluate strategies to manage fisheries and water resource management in the Eel and Russian River basins, as well as the feasibility of continuing the diversion in a license-surrender scenario. The group has racked up substantial legal fees, though Supervisor Glenn McGourty said efforts to track down federal money or get PG&E to pay for the studies have been disappointing.