An earthquake rocked Humboldt County on Sunday, shaking California’s famous Emerald Triangle cannabis cultivation region for the second time in two weeks. The earthquake on New Year’s Day, which measured 5.4 on the Richter scale, followed a stronger quake that shook the area on December 20, leading to the death of two people. Sunday’s quake was one of more than 300 aftershocks that have rocked the region since.

“It’s typical to have an aftershock that is about one magnitude unit less than the main shock,” Lori Dengler, a former geology professor and an expert on earthquakes and tsunamis, told local media after Sunday’s temblor. “So this is very typical of most aftershock sequences.”

“Today’s earthquake (was) clearly on a different but related fault,” Dengler added.

Sunday’s quake occurred at 10:35 a.m. local time and was centered about nine miles east of the Rio Dell area of Humboldt County, according to information from the U.S. Geological Survey. There were no reports of casualties or major damage, although California Route 211 through the area was temporarily closed to give inspectors time to check a bridge over the Eel River for potential damage associated with the quake, the California Department of Transportation reported. 

Earthquake Results In Power Outage

The temblor caused a power outage in the Rio Dell area, which bore the brunt of the earthquake that shook the area 12 days earlier. Pacific Gas and Electric reported that the outage affected between 500 and 5,000 utility customers, according to media reports.

Gage Dupper was displaced by the December earthquake, which knocked his home off its foundation. He told reporters he has been living as a “nomad” since then.

“Today was another pretty big one,” said Dupper. “Still feels like we are shaking to me. We just can’t catch a break it seems.”

Gage noted that he was working in Fortuna, adjacent to Rio Dell, when Sunday’s quake shook the area again.

“But even just here it felt like the ceiling was going to come down,” Dupper said. “We nearly lost our power here as well. I was in the middle of talking to a resident of the assisted living community I work for and you could just see the panic in their eyes when it started. She was just trying to pay her rent. It certainly tossed us around a bit.”

Sunday’s Quake Follows 6.4 Shaker Last Month

The earthquake that shook the Humboldt County area on December 20 measured 6.4 on the Richter scale and caused significant damage in the region. That quake injured 17 people and was blamed for the deaths of two residents, a 73-year-old and an 83-year-old, who died as “a result of medical emergencies occurring during and/or just following the earthquake,” according to a statement from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office’s Department of Emergency Services.

The December quake also resulted in a power outage in the Rio Dell area, with more than 72,000 customers affected, and a water main break caused the area to lose water service, as well. Damage from the quake was reported in Ferndale, Rio Dell, and Fortuna, Emergency Services Director Mark Ghilarducci said in a press conference in Sacramento. Damage was most extensive in Rio Dell, where at least 15 homes in the community of 3,000 were deemed uninhabitable. Another 18 homes sustained moderate damage, officials reported after a partial assessment of the area. 

Rio Dell’s water system was shut down while leaks in the vital infrastructure were repaired. The local firehouse was distributing drinking water, and portable toilets were set up outside City Hall for area residents to use. Local resident Cassondra Stoner said that she was shaken awake by the early morning quake that rocked the area last month.

“It felt like my roof was coming down,” Stoner said. “The only thing I could think about was, ‘Get the freaking kids.’”

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Congressmen Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-GA) and Doug Lamborn (R-CO) touted statistics from several studies, one of which were over ten years old, in an attempt to portray cannabis as an environmentally unfriendly plant, framing their argument around increasing competition for energy and the high amounts of electricity and water cannabis plants use compared to other agricultural crops.

“The demand for prioritizing electricity uses and for increased energy efficiency is a growing concern for the American public,” the letter said. “It is essential that the nation understand the burden marijuana cultivation puts on the electrical grid and the environment.”

The letter contained many troubling statistics, some of which appeared to be based on outdated growing technology. For instance, it is said in the letter that a four-plant module uses as much electricity as 29 refrigerators, which does not quite add up when you consider a household refrigerator uses anywhere from 100-250 watts of electricity (according to a cursory Google search) and most commercial growers use 1000 watt high-pressure sodium lights if they have not already switched to the newer LED models that use about 300 watts. Not to mention, some growers place upwards of 10 plants under a light, so that information is a bit arbitrary in the first place.

The letter also espoused that “annual cannabis cultivation electricity demand will grow 65% during the next decade.” However, this does not take into account that if marijuana were legalized on a federal level and interstate cannabis trade were opened, many cannabis companies would opt to move from an indoor grow model to an outdoor grow model.

The letter, addressed to the respective heads of the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of the Interior, and the Energy Information Administration, can be found here. The congressmen asked for responses to the following questions by November 30:

• How does current marijuana legalization impact state energy consumption and emission levels?
• How would federal legalization of marijuana affect national energy consumption and emission levels?
• What is the anticipated growth of energy usage and emissions from the marijuana industry?
• How will growing energy demands from the marijuana industry affect the reliability of our electric grid?
• What impact do illegal marijuana growing operations have on the country’s water supply?
• What harms do illegal marijuana growers’ use of various fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides pose to wildlife, habitats, and humans in the United States?

A recent study published in early 2021 found that cannabis still uses a small amount of water relative to other agricultural crops, and that with proper planning and policy cannabis does not have to be a strain on the environment even when grown at mass scale. The study made the following policy recommendations to ensure cannabis legalization does not result in an added strain on the environment:

1. Land use: as cannabis has traditionally been grown in environmentally-sensitive areas, planning could minimize negative environmental impacts linked to cannabis expansion.
2. Water use: cannabis is often grown in areas where managing the timing and location of water extraction is crucial for the environment.
3. Pesticide use: human exposure pathways for pesticide residues on cannabis are unique, as they may be inhaled at high temperatures or ingested. It is thus essential that pesticide controls go beyond those of normal agriculture.
4. Energy use: incentivizing best practices could reduce energy footprints of indoor and mixed-light cannabis cultivation.
5. Air pollution: prioritizing science-based best practices could reduce air pollution and air quality impacts.

More details on these policy recommendations can be found at the full study here.

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The Tennessee Valley Authority has walked back a threat made earlier this month to deny electricity service to cannabis operations, acknowledging in a statement on Thursday that the agency is required to provide power to all customers in its service area.

“We want to be clear about TVA’s position on the implications to our energy service to Mississippi customers: TVA has an obligation to serve our customers with safe, reliable, low-cost energy and we will continue to do so,” the utility wrote in a statement. “There will be no interruption in service because of this newly signed law.”

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally-owned electric utility company that provides power to millions of customers in Tennessee and parts of six surrounding southern states. In a statement obtained by reporters, the TVA noted that despite cannabis reform at the state level, marijuana is still a federally illegal substance. The statement was released on February 2, the same day that Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill to legalize medical marijuana in the state. The TVA provides power to local utilities that deliver electricity to customers in three dozen counties in northeastern Mississippi.

“While some states have enacted (or may soon enact) laws permitting the cultivation and distribution of marijuana for either medicinal or recreational purposes, marijuana, regardless of its intended use, remains a Schedule I substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970,” the TVA wrote in its statement. “Federal resources and funds may not be purposely used to facilitate activity that potentially violates federal law. “Given this important point, TVA will not direct any federal resources or funds to the cultivation and/or distribution of marijuana.” 

The statement also warned that if a TVA employee learns that a local utility is supplying electricity to a customer that “is engaged in activity that may violate federal law governing marijuana, the employee will report the activity to their management, and TVA management will make a determination regarding our reporting obligations to agencies that may have proper jurisdiction to enforce the federal Controlled Substances Act.”

Federal and State Officials Blast TVA Warning

The TVA’s statement drew a swift rebuke from two U.S. congressmen and members of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee. In a statement on Thursday, the representatives noted that the TVA is required by federal law to provide power to all customers.

“The actions outlined in the February 2 memo, issued on the same day as Mississippi’s enactment of a medical marijuana program, disregard the democratic will of the people of Mississippi,” Cohen and Blumenauer wrote. “Any suggestion of requiring TVA employees to report end-use customers suspected of engaging in activity involving marijuana is an affront to the people who voted in support of a medical cannabis program, to say nothing of the state legislature and governor, who overwhelmingly enacted a medical cannabis program.”

In a separate statement, Cohen said that if the TVA follows through on its warning, the agency “would also be sadly out of step with the American people, even after polls and elections are showing again and again how voters react when given the choice to weigh in on access to cannabis.”

State officials in Mississippi also pushed back on the TVA’s warning to deny power service to cannabis operations. Mississippi Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley reiterated the TVA’s responsibility to provide power to all customers and noted that the agency does not have authority over local power companies.

“TVA’s statement has already caused some medical marijuana facilities to look at other areas of the state and therefore possibly denying North Mississippians the benefits of the newly passed medical marijuana program,” Presley said in a statement posted to Twitter on Thursday. “It is a long-held principle in state law that electric utilities have an obligation to serve customers without discrimination.”

“A licensed medical marijuana facility under Mississippi law is no different. It is my position that any licensed medical marijuana facility should be served with electricity upon application and request,” Presley added. “Once power is delivered by the TVA to a local utility, TVA’s oversight ends and controlling state law and Public Service Commission statutes ensure that these facilities should be served with electricity like any other licensed business.”

Although the TVA acknowledged it is obligated to provide electricity to all customers in its service area, the utility noted in last week’s statement that it was continuing to seek the advice of federal officials.

“The broader issue is a complex one and represents a conflict between state and federal law. We are looking to the appropriate federal agencies for further clarification and have requested additional guidance,” the TVA said. “Our service to our customers remains unchanged and we will continue to carry out our mission.”

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