How the Lahontan Water Board Lets Timber Companies “Self-Monitor” Their Pollution
By Protect Lassen | July 15, 2025
What happens when you let the fox guard the henhouse? You get the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board’s so-called “self-monitoring” program for timber operations — a regulatory loophole so wide, you could fly a helicopter spraying herbicides right through it. And many do.
Let’s break it down.
“Self-Monitoring”: The Joke at the Heart of the Timber Waiver
Under the Timber Waiver program, project operators like W.M. Beaty & Associates or the Lassen Fire Safe Council (LFSC) are issued “Notices of Applicability” that permit them to conduct large-scale vegetation removal and herbicide spraying across thousands of acres with minimal oversight.
But here’s the kicker: they are responsible for monitoring themselves.
That’s right — no third-party soil sampling, no water testing, no runoff assessment. Just a single annual “Implementation Monitoring Form,” which the operator fills out, signs, and emails to the Water Board. It’s like letting a logging company write its own environmental report card with a crayon.
According to the official Notice of Applicability for the Circle V Trust Project, for example, the only required monitoring is a one-page checklist due once per year on July 15 — regardless of how many acres are sprayed, how steep the slopes, or how close they are to private wells and springs.
No third-party testing. No on-site inspection. No water quality sampling. Just email a PDF.
When No Monitoring Happens, Nothing Happens
And what if they don’t submit anything? The Lahontan Board says the project will be “considered out of compliance” — but it doesn’t appear there’s any enforcement to back that up. No fines. No investigations. No notice to neighbors.
In fact, property owners don’t even know when spraying is happening unless someone warns them — often too late.
Real People. Real Contamination. No Accountability.
One resident near Gold Run Road had herbicides applied uphill from their land by W.M. Beaty & Associates. After lab testing, they discovered hexazinone contamination in their spring, pond, and creek — with no warning, no testing, and no recourse except legal action.
And still, the Water Board allows the same operators to self-monitor under current and future waivers.
Herbicides Approved With Zero Testing
The Timber Waiver explicitly allows the use of toxic herbicides like:
- Hexazinone – known groundwater contaminant
- Glyphosate – linked to endocrine disruption
- Triclopyr – toxic to aquatic species
- Indaziflam – highly persistent and mobile
And yet, there is no requirement for operators to test for these chemicals before, during, or after application. LFSC Director Cade Mohler admitted:
“LFSC does not collect residual soil samples or water samples and is not required to do so.”
The Illusion of Regulation
The Lahontan Water Board makes it look like these timber projects are under tight environmental oversight. There’s official letterhead, forms, and acronyms like “WDID” and “Category 4 Waiver.”
But in truth, it’s a permission slip wrapped in a PR stunt. The agency doesn’t test the water. It doesn’t verify the forms. And it doesn’t notify the public.
Instead, it allows timber operators — often funded by CAL FIRE disaster grants — to check their own boxes and call it “compliance.”
Call It What It Is: Regulatory Theater
The Timber Waiver program isn’t real environmental oversight. It’s regulatory theater — a system designed to give the appearance of protection while quietly greenlighting industrial herbicide use in sensitive mountain watersheds.
Until independent, third-party monitoring is required and the public is notified of spraying in advance, these “waivers” are just blank checks with no strings attached.
Get Informed. Get Involved.
To view contaminated or at-risk parcels in Lassen County, visit the Herbicide Tracker.
To report contamination or chemical drift, or to request documentation on nearby waivers, email: watch@protectlassen.org.
And next time you hear the phrase “self-monitoring,” remember: it’s not science. It’s self-serving fiction.
Protect Lassen
Environmental transparency. Public safety. No exceptions.