The Emmett Environmental Law & Policy Clinic, in collaboration with the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) and the Ocean Foundation, released a white paper entitled “Offshore Aquaculture Regulation Under the Clean Water Act” in December 2012. The work of Clinic students Sara Bartel (JD ’13), Russell Feit (JD ’12), and Turner Smith (JD ’12) is featured in the paper.
The paper posits that while offshore aquaculture is still a nascent industry, EPA can—and should—develop appropriate tools to establish adequate oversight of these facilities in federal ocean waters. In particular, the paper recommends that (1) EPA ensure that all offshore facilities that discharge into the ocean are considered point sources and must obtain a discharge permit; (2) improve the standards for offshore aquaculture facility permits to set numeric limits for all types of discharges; and (3) identify data needs and develop requirements for monitoring and reporting for all facilities in the ocean.