Court Order Forces Williams County Commissioners to Approve AquaBounty Water Application
January 25, 2024 | 1 min to read
In Toledo, Ohio, the legal battle over AquaBounty's access to public water continues, as the Williams County Commissioners contemplate appealing a court order that mandates approval for their water usage application with the Village of Pioneer. Commissioners, led by President Bart Westfall, argue against granting permission since it involves a private entity exclusively utilizing the water for commercial purposes. AquaBounty has already secured approval from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to extract up to 5 million gallons daily from the Michindoh aquifer.
TOLEDO, Ohio – The legal fight to allow an AquaBounty, a salmon farm, access to millions of gallons of public water every day may not be done yet. The Williams County Commissioners are now considering appealing the court order forcing them to approve AquaBounty and the Village of Pioneer’s application to use the water.
“Our stance was that we could not grant that because we have a private entity drawing the water out, selling the water to a private entity for their use only, exclusively,” said Williams County Commissioners President Bart Westfall.
AquaBounty has received approval from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to pump 5 million gallons of water into their farm from the Michindoh aquifer, which straddles Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.
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