Los Angeles County Municipal Code Part 3 General Requirements of Cannabis Facilities

A.

Any person proposing to apply for a public health permit for a cannabis facility, or applying as a new owner of an existing cannabis facility shall submit an Odor Management Plan along with the submission of a public health permit application and plans to the Department. The Odor Management Plan shall, comply with the requirements of the local licensing agency, if any, and describe sufficient processes which, if implemented, will prevent odors from the cannabis facility from being detected by a person outside of the facility or indoor cultivation site.

B.

The Odor Management Plan shall include a detailed description of the ventilation system used by the cannabis facility, including but not limited to, how the ventilation systems prevent odor from escaping the facility or indoor cultivation site and how to mitigate the noxious fumes or gases.

C.

The cannabis facility operator shall be responsible for the development, implementation, and maintenance of the Odor Management Plan. Odor mitigation practices shall be based on industry-specific best control technologies and best management practices. The plan shall include the range of odor mitigation practices to be deployed to control odor-emitting activities, sources, and locations, how and when these practices will be deployed, and accounting for any identified odor- emitting activity.

D.

The permittee, operator, or person in charge of a cannabis facility shall maintain, and provide to the Department upon request, all records relating to odor management, including but not limited to, system installation, maintenance, any equipment malfunctions and deviations from Odor Management Plan.

E.

The permittee, operator, or person in charge of a cannabis facility shall maintain records of odor complaints received and response actions thereto.

F.

If an inspection or complaint investigation by the Department reveals any deviation from the Odor Management Plan, such deviation shall be a violation of this Chapter.

G.

If an inspection reveals that the existing Odor Management Plan does not effectively mitigate odors emanating from the cannabis facility or cannabis facility's cultivation site, the Department shall provide the operator or person in charge with a notice of deficiencies. The operator or person in charge of the cannabis facility shall be required to submit a modified Odor Management Plan within a reasonable amount of time, as determined by the Department. Failure to submit a modified Odor Management Plan within the required time period shall be a violation of this Chapter. Failure of an operator to submit and implement a modified Odor Management Plan may result in the suspension of the cannabis facility's public health permit.

H.

When a modification is made to a cannabis facility, or the facility operation, that has the potential to impact the nature or degree of odor, or affects the control of odor, the cannabis facility operator must update its Odor Management Plan within 30 days of facility modification. Failure to submit an updated Odor Management Plan within 30 days of facility modification shall be a violation of this Chapter.

(Ord. 2017-0060 § 3, 2017.)

A.

Any person proposing to apply for a public health permit for a cannabis facility, or apply as a new owner of an existing cannabis facility shall submit a Waste Management Plan along with the submission of a public health permit application or plans to the Department.

B.

A Waste Management Plan shall address the storing, handling, disposing, and reusing of all waste by-products and shall characterize the volume and types of waste generated for all commercial cannabis activities in compliance with the best management practices and State law and regulations.

C.

A cannabis facility shall not sell or otherwise transfer title of cannabis waste, except as permitted by State law and regulation.

D.

All cannabis and cannabis products that a cannabis facility intends to render into cannabis waste, whether voluntarily or directed by the Department shall be held on the premises in quarantine for a minimum of 72 hours. The cannabis facility operator shall affix to each batch the required document(s) with batch information and weight. At no time during the quarantine period may the cannabis or cannabis products be handled, moved, or rendered into cannabis waste. The quarantined cannabis and cannabis products are subject to inspection by the Department.

E.

All garbage and refuse on the cannabis facility premises shall be stored in nonabsorbent, water-tight, vector resistant, durable, easily cleanable, galvanized metal or heavy plastic containers with tight fitting lids. No refuse container shall be filled beyond the capacity that prevents complete closure of the lid. All garbage and refuse on the premises, whether mixed with rubbish or other material or not, shall not be accumulated or stored for more than seven calendar days, and shall be properly disposed of before the end of the seventh day. All waste, including but not limited to refuse, garbage, green waste and recyclables, must be disposed of in accordance with State law and regulation, and local law. All waste generated from commercial cannabis operations must be properly stored and secured, whether in the control of the cannabis facility operator or not, in order to prevent access to the public.

F.

The cannabis facility shall render cannabis and cannabis product into cannabis waste before removing the cannabis waste from the premises. The rendering process shall be recorded on video. The resulting cannabis waste shall be placed in the cannabis facility's refuse bin or transferred to a waste disposal facility approved by the State. All cannabis waste shall be rendered unusable and unrecognizable by mixing, grinding, and incorporating the cannabis waste with a non-consumable material or by incorporating any nonhazardous compostable material so that the resulting mixture is at least 50 percent non- cannabis waste by volume. The cannabis waste shall be tracked by one batch at a time and the cannabis facility shall not comingle different batches into cannabis waste.

G.

After a cannabis facility operator renders the cannabis and cannabis product into cannabis waste, the cannabis facility operator shall do one of the following with the cannabis waste:

Dispose of the cannabis waste at a manned and fully permitted solid waste landfill.

Deposit the cannabis waste at a manned and fully permitted compostable materials handling facility or operation.

Deposit the cannabis waste at a manned and fully permitted in-vessel digestion facility or operation.

H.

The cannabis facility operator shall use the track-and-trace database and onsite documents to ensure the cannabis waste materials are identified, weighed, and tracked while on the cannabis facility premises and when disposed of or deposited. The cannabis facility operator shall enter the date and time that the cannabis product was rendered into cannabis waste and the weight of the resulting cannabis waste into the track-and-trace database.

I.

All cannabis facility operators shall maintain accurate and comprehensive records regarding cannabis waste material that account for, reconcile, and evidence all activity related to the generation and disposal or deposition of cannabis waste. The cannabis facility operator shall obtain a record from the solid waste facility or operation evidencing the acceptance of the cannabis waste material at the facility or operation. The record must contain the name and address of the operation or facility, the date, the volume or weight of the cannabis waste accepted, and the name and signature of the person in charge of the facility or operator who accepts the cannabis waste. Once the cannabis waste is accepted by the solid waste facility, the cannabis facility operator shall input the date and time of the disposal or deposition of the cannabis waste at a solid waste facility into the track-and-trace database. These documents are records subject to inspection by the Department.

J.

All commercial cannabis operations that utilize and generate hazardous materials or hazardous waste shall comply with all applicable hazardous material regulations, including but not limited to, hazardous waste generator, underground storage tank, above ground storage tanks, and hazardous materials handling requirements and maintain any applicable permits for these programs from the Fire Prevention Division, Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) of Los Angeles County and Emergency Services Department or Agricultural Commissioner.

(Ord. 2017-0060 § 3, 2017.)

A.

A cannabis facility shall ensure compliance with the requirements for record keeping as required by the State and local enforcement agencies.

B.

A cannabis facility operator shall make such records available upon request by the Department.

(Ord. 2017-0060 § 3, 2017.)

A.

A permitted cannabis facility shall utilize the track and trace system as required by State law and regulations and local laws.

B.

A permitted cannabis facility shall make track and trace system records available to the Department upon request.

(Ord. 2017-0060 § 3, 2017.)

A.

The Department shall have authority to exclude any cannabis facility employee that handles edible cannabis and cannabis products from any cannabis facility conducting operations, including but not limited to cultivation, extraction, preparation, manufacturing, distribution, and testing, if the employee is diagnosed with an infectious agent specified in Subdivision B.1-8, and the employee is either symptomatic and still considered infectious, or is not experiencing symptoms of the illness associated with that agent but is still considered infectious.

B.

For purposes of this Section, "illness" means a condition caused by any of the following infectious agents:

Hepatitis A virus.

Salmonella typhi.

Salmonella spp.

Shigella spp.

Entamoeba histolytica.

Enterohemorrhagic or shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli.

Norovirus.

Other communicable diseases that may be transmitted to others through the handling of edible cannabis and cannabis products.

C.

The person in charge shall do either of the following:

Exclude an employee that handles edible cannabis and cannabis products from a cannabis facility if the employee is diagnosed with an infectious agent specified in this Chapter.

Restrict an employee from working with exposed edible cannabis and cannabis products, or cleaning equipment, utensils, and linens in an edible cannabis manufacturing and distributing facility if the employee is suffering from symptoms of an acute gastrointestinal illness.

D.

The person in charge may remove a restriction for an employee upon the resolution of symptoms as reported by an employee that handles edible cannabis and cannabis products if the employee states that he or she no longer has any symptoms of an acute gastrointestinal illness.

E.

Only the Department shall remove exclusions or restrictions, or both, related to diagnosed illnesses due to infectious agents specified in this Chapter after the Department provides a written clearance stating that the excluded or restricted employee is no longer considered infectious.

(Ord. 2017-0060 § 3, 2017.)

A.

The cannabis facility operator shall implement a training program to ensure that all employees, including the person in charge, present at the premises are provided information, training, and shall have adequate knowledge of cannabis safety procedures and protocols, which, at minimum, shall include, but not be limited to the following:

All cannabis facility employees within 30 calendar days of the start of employment shall be trained in all health and safety hazards, hazards presented by all solvents or chemicals used at the premises as described in the material safety data sheet for each solvent or chemical. All employees shall review all emergency procedures, security procedures, record keeping requirements, and training requirements.

Prior to independently engaging in any commercial cannabis activity, the cannabis facility employee shall be trained on the overview of the cannabis facility operation and all standard operating procedures, all quality control procedures, and all hazard analysis and control procedures as appropriate. The employee shall be trained on the proper and safe usage of equipment or machinery as applicable and safe work practices applicable to an employee's job tasks. This shall include appropriate usage of any necessary safety or sanitary equipment, cleaning and maintenance requirements, and emergency operations, including shutdown procedures, or any additional information reasonably related to an employee's job duties.

All cannabis facilities that produce or manufacture edible cannabis products shall ensure that all employees who prepare, handle, or package edible cannabis products successfully complete a food handler course accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) within 90 days of commencing employment at the premises and again every three years thereafter. Applicable employees shall complete the ANSI-accredited food handler course no later than 90 calendar days after the effective date of the public health permit. The cannabis facility operator shall obtain documentation evidencing the fulfillment of this requirement.

The cannabis facility operator shall ensure that all personnel receive annual refresher training to cover, at minimum, the topics listed in this section. This annual refresher training must be completed within 12 months of the previous training completion date.

B.

The cannabis facility operator shall maintain a record which contains at minimum, but not limited to:

An annual confirmation by the cannabis facility operator that the employee has received and understood all information and training provided in the training program.

A list of all employees at the premises, including at minimum, name and job duties of each.

Documentation of training topics and dates of training completion for all employees.

Training topics and dates of refresher training completion for all employees.

The signature of the employee and the cannabis facility operator verifying receipt and understanding of each training or refresher training completed by the employee.

Any official documentation attesting to the successful completion of required training by the employee.

C.

The cannabis facility operator may assign the responsibility for ensuring compliance by an employee with the requirements of this Chapter to the person in charge. The assigned person in charge must have the education, training, experience, or a combination thereof necessary to ensure the production of clean and safe cannabis and cannabis products by all employees. The designated person in charge shall sign and date a document on an annual basis attesting that the supervisor has received and understood all information and training provided in the training program. This documentation shall be maintained as part of the record requirements.

(Ord. 2017-0060 § 3, 2017.)