Pennsylvania requires permits for hemp growers and processors in 2020

Like hemp growers, facilities that process the crop also will have to get permits in 2020 as Pennsylvania’s emerging industry enters its second year, state officials said.

The commercial cultivation of hemp, which had been banned by the federal government for 80 years, took off in Pennsylvania last year after it was legalized in the 2018 federal farm bill.

In 2019, the state permitted 324 growers, including 11 in Westmoreland County and another 10 in Allegheny County. State records showed growers harvested just over 4,000 acres of hemp in 55 Pennsylvania counties.

But there were a few bumps along the way.

Although the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture issued permits for growers, it lacked regulatory authority over facilities that dried and processed hemp for commercial use.

The lack of regulations on processing facilities became apparent over the last few months when state and local officials were inundated with complaints about odors shortly after Patriot Shield Pennsylvania opened in Jeannette.

Within two months, the state Department of Environmental Protection ordered the facility shuttered for air-quality violations. A consent agreement DEP inked with the Colorado-based company on Christmas Eve provided for it to reopen for limited operations and pay a $29,000 fine.

In addition to acquiring a permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Patriot Shield’s consent agreement with DEP required it to submit an application, including an odor control plan, to state environmental regulators before March if it intends to resume drying operations this year.

New interim guidelines the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued in the fall require both hemp growers and processors to undergo FBI background checks and obtain permits through the department, said spokeswoman Shannon Powers.

She could not say how many processing facilities were operating last year.

Applications for 2020 permits, which cost $150 each, will be accepted through April 1, Powers said.

She could not estimate the market value Pennsylvania-grown hemp fetched last year. Industry analysts predict the global hemp market will grow from $4.6 billion in 2019 to $26.6 billion by 2025 as the industry matures and new uses for the versatile plant emerge.