Recommendation R1
Recommendations
The Grand Jury recommends that the Agricultural Department create a clear standard for assessing pesticide fines. The Grand Jury also recommends that the Department include a procedure for how they chose the final dollar amount on every new NOPA document. This should be completed by January 31, 2027.
Jury report: Cultivating Compliance: A Review of Sutter County's Agricultural Operations · PDF page 40
Permanent linkOfficial response
Sutter County Board of Supervisors
Agency position unclearThe Board says the first part is implemented through existing NOPA explanations under 3 CCR section 6130(d). It says the second part will not be implemented as unwarranted because regulations do not require it and violations differ. It also describes a June 12, 2026 DPR notice of proposed enforcement-response amendments.
Read official response · PDF page 4Both source components receive explicit but different dispositions: the standard is claimed implemented, while a procedure explaining the final dollar amount is declined. A single whole-item disposition cannot represent that split, so “unclear” retains it rather than asserting complete implementation. The proposed DPR amendments are context, not an adopted county commitment or proof of completed action. The response gives no promise to implement the second component by the jury’s January 31, 2027 deadline. No original NOPA examples are attached, and implementation is an agency claim, not independently verified.
This review evaluates the response document. Implementation claims have not been independently verified.