Richmond set to vote on cannabis production emission rules

RICHMOND (NEWS 1130) — With people who live near pot production facilities sharing concerns about the smell and air quality, the City of Richmond is looking at how to balance welcoming the industry with ensuring odours don’t get out of hand.

Currently, Richmond has one facility operating but two more are in the planning phase.

“It is a real issue. There is no getting around that. Richmond has a fairly limited amount of cannabis that is in production at this time, but we do have some and it’s going to increase and it’s going, so it’s going to be an increasing issue for us and we know that we want to get ahead of the situation now,” says Mayor Malcolm Brodie.

Richmond’s General Purpose Committee is set to vote on endorsing a series of recommendations on odour control and air-quality at its Jan. 7 meeting.

These will go to the Board of the Regional District of Metro Vancouver which has asked cities to give feedback to help shape a regional approach to regulating emissions.

“With the legalization of recreational marijuana and cannabis we know that odour can be a very large issue and it can be very difficult to manage. So, Metro Vancouver has taken the initiative to look at this situation and they’re looking to the various stakeholders, including the cities, for some input on it,” Brodie explains. “Odour abatement and control has to trump the economic value of what you’re doing. You have to find other ways to do it, other places to do it, technologies that will control the odours. Frankly, by jumping into it at the beginning of the situation I think Metro Vancouver is doing the right thing and they’re getting a handle on it because they know how difficult the issue can be if it goes too far.”

He points out that residents in other cities like Langley and Delta have raised significant concerns about odour and how it impacts their quality of life.

“Odour and odour control is a very major concern for them because if you even drive by such a facility the odour can really affect you and then if you live in the area you would be very much affected by that odour.”

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The mayor says the city favours an approach where each new facility would have to meet a set of standards before being given the go-ahead to operate.

“We want to have odour control, it’s really important for quality of life. One of the main things that we’re saying is it’s fine to have cannabis-related regulations across the entire industry, but for this kind of an operation we should have site-specific zoning or site-specific regulation.”

Beyond the odour, there are also worries about some facilities releasing particulate matter, which can create breathing issues — especially for people with chronic or underlying health problems.