The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has unanimously passed new regulations requiring cannabis farmers to install “multi-technology carbon filtration” systems, commonly known as scrubbers. This decision was made on Tuesday, and growers must comply by March 31, 2026.
Autumn Shelton, a partner at Autumn Brand Farm, expressed concern about the financial burden these scrubbers will impose on many growers. She noted, “The financial impact of this is massive and it may put some people out of business.” Each scrubber costs approximately $22,000, and since multiple units are often necessary for each farm, the overall costs can become significant.
County Supervisor Roy Lee stated that failure to install the required scrubbers by the deadline will lead to cannabis farmers losing their licenses. He remarked, “It’s just the cost of doing business.” One model of scrubber, developed by the Envinity Group, has been shown to eliminate an average of 84 percent of cannabis odors. However, Shelton highlighted that if they are required to use the Envinity scrubbers, costs could reach at least one and a half million dollars, depending on the number needed.
Shelton acknowledged the community’s frustrations regarding odors but urged the county to conduct further testing before mandating this technology. She said, “It’s frustrating that the county can go and make a change that will create such a financial burden on the growers without really doing a study themselves by a third party to make sure that these scrubbers can actually do what they’re going to do.”
In response, Supervisor Lee pointed out that a study conducted in 2022 by SCS Engineering, an environmental consulting firm, confirmed the effectiveness of the scrubbers. He asserted, “It has been tested by a third party, there is scientific proof that it does work.”
The Board has scheduled a second reading of the cannabis odor-control amendments and a final vote for April 1.
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