Press releases are posted on Independent.com as a free community service.
Re: People v. Central Coast Agriculture, Inc. et al.
Santa Barbara Superior Court, Case No. 25CV04499
BUELLTON, Calif., August 15, 2025 – Santa Barbara County District Attorney John T. Savrnoch announced today that his office has reached a $620,000 settlement in an environmental protection lawsuit against Central Coast Agriculture Inc. and several related companies (“CCA”), which operated cannabis cultivation, harvesting, and processing facilities in Buellton, California.
The civil complaint alleges that CCA operated at least 16, 100–500 kilowatt diesel generators to power refrigeration units storing frozen cannabis. At least one was used for primary power to a cannabis cultivation greenhouse. CCA violated the Health and Safety Code by operating these generators outside of the California Air Resources Board’s Portable Engine Registration Program (“PERP”) regulations. Specifically, the complaint alleges that CCA used them for primary power to a building, facility, or stationary equipment, operated them at locations where the PERP registration was not valid without obtaining prior Air Pollution Control District (“APCD”) authorization, kept them at the same location for more than 12 months, and failed to record the location of each generator on a monthly basis. Because CCA’s use of the generators was not compliant with the PERP regulations, CCA was required to obtain a permit from APCD to operate the generators, which it failed to do.
As part of the settlement, Central Coast Agriculture will pay $520,000 in civil penalties and $100,000 as a Supplemental Environmental Project to the Santa Barbara County Bucket Brigade to fund the Refugio Road Trail Restoration Project. The District Attorney’s Office will receive $260,000 of the civil penalties to support enforcement of consumer and environmental protection laws. The settlement also includes a permanent injunction requiring CCA to comply with all PERP regulations in the State of California.
District Attorney Savrnoch thanked the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District, and Senior Deputy District Attorneys Christopher Dalbey and Morgan Lucas for their work on the case. District Attorney Savrnoch emphasized that all businesses must comply with our environmental laws for the protection of the public, company personnel, and the environment itself.
You must be logged in to post a comment.