OVERVIEW OF THE MEDICAL MARIJUANA
SECTORJay Pimpare
EPA New England
State Marijuana Laws in 2017
Medical marijuana broadly legalized
No broad laws legalizing marijuanaMarijuana legalized for recreational use
Let’s Talk About Growers
•Local Zoning•Secure Sites•1,000-foot buffer (property line to property line) from: Schools, playgrounds, rec centers, child care, public parks, transit centers, libraries and arcade centers.
•Growers use large amounts of power.•Full production, large indoor grows may require new power lines to be installed.
Electricity
How is the POTW affected?
•Water use•Fertilizers•Pesticides•Slug loads
•Cleaning materials
•Soils, sediments & solids
Water
•Clean, reliable H2O source.
• Recycled H2O.
Common Fertilizers
•Food or crop grade.
•No “turf” fertilizers.
Producer Waste Streams
•Water and soils (minimal) to sanitary.
•Bulk waste soils taken offsite.
Lab Results
•Metals typically not an issue.
Hydrocarbon Extraction
•Butane strips the oils from the marijuana.
•Oil is heated to remove residual butane.
•Keeps fire depts. busy.
CO2 Extraction
•CO2 (and butane) extraction achieves 55-65% THC.
•95% using secondary processes.
•Categorical ???????????
Food Products
•Health Department
•FOG, Grease Interceptors??
Summary • Typically, no concerns
from a pollutant discharge aspect
• Solid waste management is highly controlled for plant waste
• Facility access
• Little or no liquid waste discharge
• Cost saving in production actively sought
• Spill impact is low
Thank You & Questions