On August 30, 2019 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 published its draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and associated documents for Kampachi Farms, LLC (Permit No. FL0A00001). The draft NPDES permit authorizes the discharge of industrial wastewater from a marine net-pen aquaculture facility located in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico at approximately 45 miles southwest of Sarasota, Florida (near 27° 7’ 20.51”N, 83° 12’ 1.37”W). The project would culture a single cohort of approximately 20,000 Almaco jack (Seriola rivoliana) and produce a maximum annual harvest of 88,000 pounds.

The public notice for the public hearing, draft permit, draft Environmental Assessment (EA) and supporting documents can be found at https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/about-epa-region-4-southeast. Pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 124.12, EPA has determined that significant public interest exists to conduct a public hearing on the above referenced permit.

Advance registration for this hearing has closed. There are a limited number of seats available for onsite registration, starting at 5pm on Tuesday. Due to the high volume of advance registered commenters, it is unlikely that we will be able to accommodate onsite requests to comment. You can submit written comments onsite or send comments up until February 4.

Due to the number of participants who have pre-registered to speak at the public hearing, oral comments will be limited to a maximum of three minutes each. Participants who have pre-registered will be assigned speaking slots when they arrive at the hearing. Participants who have not pre-registered online but wish to speak will also be assigned speaking slots at the hearing, and will speak after pre-registered commenters, as time allows. Though every effort will be made to accommodate all requests for speaking time, EPA cannot guarantee that all persons will have an opportunity to contribute oral comments. However, EPA also encourages you to provide written comments, at the meeting, and/or after the meeting. EPA has extended the public comment period for the draft NDPES permit, draft Environmental Assessment (EA), and draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). Any persons wishing to comment on any aspect of the proposed permit, EA, or FONSI should do so prior to February 4, 2020.