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Senate committee hears testimony backing bill to allow mixing zones for seafood-processor bacteria limits
Summary
A Senate committee heard detailed testimony on April 22 about House Bill 3814A, which would allow the Environmental Quality Commission and the Department of Environmental Quality to issue permits that use a site‑specific mixing zone to establish bacteria limits for wastewater discharged by seafood processors, provided DEQ finds the zone does not pose a public‑health risk.
A Senate committee heard detailed testimony on April 22 about House Bill 3814A, which would allow the Environmental Quality Commission and the Department of Environmental Quality to issue permits that use a site‑specific mixing zone to establish bacteria limits for wastewater discharged by seafood processors, provided DEQ finds the zone does not pose a public‑health risk.
The bill's sponsor and industry witnesses told the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Wildfire that the current state rule does not differentiate bacteria from human (warm‑blooded) sources and nonhuman (cold‑blooded or environmental) sources, and that applying a mixing zone for seafood processors would reflect scientific findings and EPA guidance while protecting human health.
“DEQ has no positio…
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