Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 935 CMR - Cannabis Control Commission › Title 935 CMR 500.000 - Adult Use of Marijuana › Section 500.120 - Additional Operational Requirements for Indoor and Outdoor Marijuana Cultivators

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1) In addition to
			 the general operational requirements for Marijuana Establishments required
			 under
			 935
			 CMR 500.105 and security requirements
			 provided in
			 935 CMR
			 500.110, Marijuana Cultivators shall comply
			 with additional operational requirements required under 935 CMR
			 500.120.
(2) A Marijuana Cultivator
			 may cultivate its own Marijuana or acquire Marijuana from other Marijuana
			 Establishments for the purposes of Propagation. Prior to commencing operations,
			 Marijuana Cultivators shall disclose all growing media and plant nutrients
			 intended to be used during the cultivation process. In all instances, Marijuana
			 Cultivators shall disclose all growing media and plant nutrients used for
			 cultivation upon request.
(3) Only
			 a licensed Marijuana Cultivator or Microbusiness is permitted to cultivate
			 Marijuana for adult use for sale to Marijuana Establishments.
(4) All phases of the cultivation,
			 Processing, and packaging of Marijuana by a Marijuana Cultivator shall take
			 place in a designated Limited Access Area where Marijuana is not visible from a
			 public place without the use of binoculars, aircraft or other optical aids.
			 Marijuana is not visible if it cannot be reasonably identified.
(5) Application of Pesticides shall be
			 performed in compliance with M.G.L. c. 132B and the regulations promulgated at
			 333 CMR
			 2.00 through
			 14.00. Any testing results
			 indicating noncompliance shall be immediately reported to the Commission, who
			 may refer any such result to the MDAR.
(6) A Marijuana Cultivator selling or
			 otherwise transferring Marijuana to another Marijuana Establishment shall
			 provide documentation of its compliance, or lack thereof, with the testing
			 requirements of
			 935 CMR
			 500.160.
(7) A Marijuana Cultivator may label
			 Marijuana and Marijuana Products with the word "organic" only if all
			 cultivation is consistent with US Department of Agriculture organic
			 requirements at 7 CFR 205:
National Organic Program
and
			 consistent with MDAR requirements for Pesticide usage;
(8) Soil for cultivation shall meet federal
			 standards identified by the Commission including, but not limited to, the U.S.
			 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's Environmental Media
			 Evaluation Guidelines for residential soil levels.
(9) The cultivation process shall use best
			 practices to limit contamination including, but not limited to, mold, fungus,
			 bacterial diseases, rot, pests, Pesticides not in compliance with 935 CMR
			 500.120(5) for use on Marijuana, mildew, and any other contaminant identified
			 as posing potential harm. Best practices shall be consistent with state and
			 local law including, but not limited to, the Commission's Guidance on
			 Integrated Pest Management.
(10)
			 Any application of plant nutrient to land used for the cultivation of Marijuana
			 shall comply with St. 2012, c. 262, as amended by St. 2013, c. 118, § 26,
			 and
			 330 CMR 31.00:
Plant
			 Nutrient Application Requirements for Agricultural Land and Non-agricultural
			 Turf and Lawns
.
(11) A
			 Marijuana Cultivator shall satisfy minimum energy efficiency and equipment
			 standards established by the Commission and meet all applicable environmental
			 laws, regulations, permits and other applicable approvals including, but not
			 limited to, those related to water quality and quantity, wastewater, solid and
			 hazardous waste management, and air pollution control, including prevention of
			 odor and noise pursuant to
			 310 CMR
			 7.00:
Air Pollution Control
as a
			 condition of obtaining a final license under
			 935 CMR 500.103(2)
			  and as a condition of renewal under
			 935 CMR
			 500.103(4). A Marijuana
			 Cultivator shall adopt and use additional best management practices as
			 determined by the Commission, in consultation with the working group
			 established under St. 2017, c. 55, § 78(b) or applicable departments or
			 divisions of the EOEEA, to reduce energy and water usage, engage in energy
			 conservation and mitigate other environmental impacts, and shall provide energy
			 and water usage reporting to the Commission in a form determined by the
			 Commission. Each license renewal application under
			 935 CMR 500.103(4)
			  shall include a report of the Marijuana
			 Cultivator's energy and water usage over the 12-month period preceding the date
			 of application. Marijuana Cultivators shall be subject to the following minimum
			 energy efficiency and equipment standards:
(a) The building envelope for all facilities,
			 except Greenhouses, shall meet minimum Massachusetts Building Code requirements
			 and all Massachusetts amendments (780 CMR:
Massachusetts Amendments to
			 the International Building Code 2009
), International Energy
			 Conservation Code (IECC) Section C402 or The American Society of Heating,
			 Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 90.1 Sections
			 5.4 and 5.5 as applied or incorporated by reference in 780 CMR:
Massachusetts Amendments to the International Building Code
			 2009
, except that facilities using existing buildings may demonstrate
			 compliance by showing that the envelope insulation complies with code minimum
			 standards for Type Factory Industrial F-1, as further defined in guidelines
			 issued by the Commission.
(b)
			 Lighting used for Cannabis cultivation shall meet one of the following
			 compliance requirements:
1. Horticulture
			 Lighting Power Density may not exceed 36 watts per square foot, except for Tier
			 1 and Tier 2 which may not exceed 50 watts per square foot; or
2. All horticultural lighting used in a
			 facility is listed on the current Design Lights Consortium Solid-state
			 Horticultural Lighting Qualified Products List ("Horticultural QPL") or other
			 similar list approved by the Commission as of the date of license application,
			 and lighting Photosynthetic Photon Efficacy (PPE) is at least 15% above the
			 minimum Horticultural QPL threshold rounded up to the nearest 0.1 µmol/J
			 (micromoles per joule).
3. A
			 facility seeking to use horticultural lighting not included on the
			 Horticultural QPL or other similar list approved by the Commission shall seek a
			 waiver pursuant to
			 935 CMR 500.850 and
			 provide documentation of third-party certification of the energy efficiency
			 features of the proposed lighting. All facilities, regardless of compliance
			 path, shall provide third-party safety certification by an OSHA NRTL or
			 SCC-recognized body, which shall certify that products meet a set of safety
			 requirements and standards deemed applicable to horticultural lighting products
			 by that safety organization.
(c) Heating Ventilation and Air Condition
			 (HVAC) and dehumidification systems shall meet Massachusetts Building Code
			 requirements and all Massachusetts amendments (780 CMR:
Massachusetts
			 Amendments to the International Building Code 2009
), IECC Section C403
			 or ASHRAE Chapter 6 as applied or incorporated by reference in (780 CMR:
Massachusetts Amendments to the International Building Code
			 2009
). As part of the documentation required under 935 CMR
			 500.120(11)(b), a Marijuana Cultivator shall provide a certification from a
			 Massachusetts Licensed Mechanical Engineer that the HVAC and dehumidification
			 systems meet Massachusetts building code as specified in 935 CMR 500.120(11)(c)
			 and that such systems have been evaluated and sized for the anticipated loads
			 of the facility.
(d) Safety
			 protocols shall be established and documented to protect workers, Consumers, or
			 Visitors (
e.g.
, eye protection near operating Horticultural
			 Lighting Equipment).
(e)
			 Requirements in 935 CMR 500.120(11)(b) and (c) shall not be required if an
			 indoor Marijuana Cultivator is generating 80% or more of the total annual
			 on-site energy use for all fuels (expressed on a MWh basis) from an on-site
			 clean or renewable generating source, or renewable thermal generation, as
			 provided in M.G.L. c. 25A § 11F and 11F½. Additionally, the
			 Marijuana Establishment shall document that renewable energy credits or
			 alternative energy credits representing the portion of the Licensee's energy
			 usage not generated onsite have been purchased and retired on an annual
			 basis.
(f) Prior to final
			 licensure, a Marijuana Cultivator Licensee shall demonstrate compliance with
			 935 CMR 500.120(11), by submitting an energy compliance letter prepared by a
			 Massachusetts Licensed Professional Engineer or Massachusetts Licensed
			 Registered Architect with supporting documentation, together with submission of
			 building plans under
			 935 CMR
			 500.103. For a Microbusiness or Craft
			 Marijuana Cooperative with a cultivation location sized as Tier 1 or Tier 2, or
			 such other Marijuana Cultivators that have been granted a waiver under
			 935 CMR 500.850,
			 compliance with any of the requirements of 935 CMR 500.120(11) may be
			 demonstrated through an energy compliance letter or updated energy compliance
			 letter prepared by one or more of the following energy professionals:
1. A Certified Energy Auditor certified by
			 the Association of Energy Engineers;
2. A Certified Energy Manager certified by
			 the Association of Energy Engineers;
3. A Massachusetts Licensed Professional
			 Engineer; or
4. A Massachusetts
			 Licensed Registered Architect.
(g) A CMO with a final Certificate of
			 Licensure issued before November 1, 2019 shall have until July 1, 2020 to
			 comply with 935 CMR 500.120(11), except that any additions to or renovations to
			 a facility shall comply with 935 CMR 500.120(11). A CMO subject to 935 CMR
			 500.120(11)(g) may apply for an additional six-month extension if it agrees to
			 install meters to monitor energy usage, water usage and other data determined
			 by the Commission as necessary in order to provide reports on energy usage,
			 water usage, waste production and other data in a form and manner determined by
			 the Commission.
(h) For purposes of
			 935 CMR 500.120(11), the following terms shall have the following meanings:
1. Horticultural Lighting Equipment (HLE)
			 means any lighting equipment (
e.g.
, fixtures, bulbs, ballasts,
			 controls,
etc
.) that uses energy for the cultivation of
			 plants, at any stage of growth (
e.g
., germination,
			 cloning/Mother Plants, Propagation, Vegetation, Flowering, and
			 harvest).
2. Horticulture Lighting
			 Square Footage (HLSF) means an area to be calculated in square feet and
			 measured using clearly identifiable boundaries of all areas(s) that will
			 contain plants at any point in time, at any stage of growth, including all of
			 the space(s) within the boundaries, HLSF may be noncontiguous, but each unique
			 area included in the total HLSF calculations shall be separated by an
			 identifiable boundary which includes, but is not limited to: interior walls,
			 shelves, Greenhouse walls, hoop house walls, garden benches, hedge rows,
			 fencing, garden beds, or garden plots. If plants are being cultivated using a
			 shelving system, the surface area of each level shall be included in the total
			 HLSF calculation.
3. Lighting Power
			 Density (HLPD) means a measure of total watts of Horticultural Lighting
			 Equipment per total Horticulture Lighting Square Footage, (HLE / HLSF = HLPD)
			 expressed as number of watts per square foot.