A draft bill has been drafted that would amend the Maine Revised Statutes that protect Maine’s ocean waters, support regulatory oversight, promote the aquaculture industry and advance the interests of Maine’s citizens. The bill is attached to this news item.
The key points to the bill are:
restrict the maximum size of new aquaculture sites to 50 acres and to limit any one farmer to 100 acres.
require more oversight and site inspections to protect the environment.
require stakeholder meetings and more consideration of other uses of public trust waters.
improvement of the permit approval process.
remove DMR’s exemption from the National Resource Protection Act for aquaculture sites larger than 5 acres.
Please consider sending a letter or email supporting the passage of LD 1146 to your Maine legislature representatives. Sen. David Miramant chairs the Marine Resources Committee and the draft bill is sponsored by Representative Robert Alley. Here are the links to the legislature’s member emails.
https://legislature.maine.gov/house/house/MemberProfiles/ListEmail
https://legislature.maine.gov/senate/senators/9536
LD 1146 – An Act To Protect Maine’s Ocean Waters and Support Regulatory Oversight and the Long-term Health of the Aquaculture Industry