I'm afraid this topic may get too hot and too political to continue, which is unfortunate. I would ask restraint from all. It is an important issue.
I believe this basic bill has been introduced and defeated a number of times in the last several years. A very similar bill passed here in WV about four years ago, with virtually none in the aquaculture community even knowing it was in existence.
This is a true double-edged sword type problem. Neither Democrat nor Republican has the answer. Some type of compromise is definitely required.
There are many very serious issues with multiple aspects.
For many, it is "do you want a job, or do you want to go fishing?"
Just one of the many issues is here in WV. Is mountain top removal right or wrong? Needing coal becomes a very contemptuous issue. We need domestic jobs, we need coal for electricity, and we need it to offset overseas oil. The question on the other side comes down to air pollution, mercury contamination, wanting clean trout streams so the native brookies can survive, and needing clean water for the residents whose groundwater is contaminated by the spoils when the mountain tops and slurry are put into the hollows. Are brookies and other trout any more valuable than the darters and owls that people have fought for in other areas in recent decades. Also, the people most affected in these regions are those with the weakest voices -- those who need jobs, and live in communities that are being poisoned for generations.
Similarly, we have the serious problems with the Chesapeake Bay and the many tributaries in its watershed throughout the entire mid-Atlantic area. We need food production. But, how much do we limit the runoff and chemicals from food processing plants, and sewage processing due to population expansion, that have been at the center of some of the suspected causes of the massive fish kills and the male fish with ovaries in these watersheds?
There is case after case like this, with strong arguments on both sides. Both sides affect hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of people.
Write your senators. I did. Write to Senator Feingold. I did. I even asked if he, or a senior staffer, could attend this year's PB conference to learn more about our views.
Keep it civil,
Ken
