(AP) - A state legislative committee will look at the impact of the drought and water use by illegal marijuana cultivators on North Coast fisheries at a hearing in Sacramento.
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports that the hearing on Wednesday follows reports that pot plants are consuming billions of gallons of water and salmon-rearing creeks are running dry.
The Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture says rogue marijuana crops on the North Coast are damaging fisheries.
More than 86,500 marijuana plants were seized last week in the remote Island Mountain region where Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity counties meet. Officials say they found environmental issues including unlawful grading and creeks that had been dammed and diverted to provide water for the pot plants.
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