California Drought Prompts Legislation to Increase Fines for Water Pollution for Illegal Grows

#SanBernardino County in #California is sponsoring state legislation aimed at increasing fines for illegal #cannabis #grows and targeting illegal #cultivation operations that are polluting groundwater. Two bills were recently introduced to prevent illegal cannabis cultivation efforts, which are using more water than ever in the wake of a historic California drought. “Illegal cannabis #farming is devastating the desert communities of San #Bernardino County,” said San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman. “The County is determined to stop this terrible damage to the environment and to protect the lives and property of our residents from lawless criminals.” San Bernardino is sponsoring Assembly #Bill 2728, introduced by #Assemblymember Thurston Smith, and #Senate Bill 1426, introduced by #Senator Anna Caballero, to tackle these concerns.

#AB-2728 would increase the fines for illegal cultivation to $1,000 for each day of violation, and $2,500 for each acre-foot of #water diverted (and if that measurement isn’t specified, $500 per plant). These stipulations would only take place in a “critically dry year immediately preceded by two or more consecutive below normal, dry, or critical dry years” in the event that the California state governor has issued a state of emergency. SB-1426 would punish “unauthorized tapping into a water conveyance or storage infrastructure or digging or extracting groundwater from an unpermitted well.