Hemp News Vermont: Can Hemp Smells Be Prosecuted As a Nuisance?

A hemp drying facility in Winooski Vermont is under fire due to the smell coming from their hemp drying facility in the small city. In fact, the city has received many complaints about email related to an “odor” coming from the drying warehouse. While regulations vary from state to state this brings up the question as to whether or not the smell of hemp is something that could potentially force hemp drying and even growing facilities out of certain areas. Here is what happened in Winooski.

Complaints About Hemp Odor in Vermont

The complaint about the hemp smell began coming into the city of Winooski, Vermont when the drying operations of a local hemp company were delayed because of COVID. What was supposed to happen mid-winter ended up starting in summer and lasting much longer than anticipated. The lab –VT-CBD Labs explained this in a public statement. 

Can Hemp Odor Be a Nuisance?

In Vermont specifically, the  Unified Land Use and Development Regulations  outline that the negative impacts of land-use operations cannot cause

• Property damage. 
• A health hazard (to vegetation, animals, and people). 
• “Excessive soiling at any point on the property of others.” 

However, in many cases, agriculture and forestry uses are exempt from this and Vermont considers hemp an agricultural commodity. This doesn’t necessarily make the hemp drying facility immune to this though.

 For now, the city of Winooski called a City Council meeting to get public comment. Since regulating something like “a smell” is difficult, for now, the city officials are figuring out how to “measure, document, and evaluate the quality, intensity, or frequency of the offenses, including proximity to the source,” Meanwhile the CBD company plans to dry between October and February and says:

“We expect that in the future that most of our work will be done during months when windows are closed and any odors will have minimal or no impact on our neighbors,” 

This is likely an issue that will come up across the US as hemp farming becomes more widespread and drying facilities push into urban neighborhoods. This is also something to think about if you are farming and drying hemp yourself. 

For more information on CBD seeds, growing hemp, and regulations that may affect your hemp operation, contact CBD Seed Co, today!