A sponsor of a bill to cut regulations for people involved in the aquaculture industry passed a state Senate committee last week says the bill, if approved, will cut red tape for people in the aquaculture industry.
Others said it endangers public waters. Senate bill 493 passed 3-2 to go the full Senate for debate.
Republican Tom Tiffany of Hazelhurst said the bill was inspired in part by problems reported to him by a Langlade county business owner...
"....there's a fish farm in Langlade county that has been seeking permits for seven years and they haven't been able to get them. So we're trying to get some of those impediments out of the way. .."
Tiffany says the bill treats aquaculture in the same way as other agricultural businesses and follows federal government standards.
Green Bay Trout Unlimited on its website said the bill greatly expands the use of natural water bodies for aquaculture. It also says fish farms would no longer be required to obtain permits to construct or dredge artificial enlargements of navigable waterways, or to grade on the banks of navigable waterways — including trout streams and “outstanding and exceptional resource waters.
