This section provides brief synopses of over twenty federal, state, and county laws, permits and regulations that may apply to siting aquaculture operations; organized by jurisdiction. For each regulation or permit, a brief description of purpose, administering agency, legal authority, applicability to aquaculture, application information requirements, public participation expectations, process time requirements, sequencing requirements, and where applicable the fees or costs, is provided.

It must be emphasized: no summary can substitute for critically reviewing the relevant statutes and regulations themselves, and for contacting the responsible agencies directly early in the project planning to discuss specific requirements as they apply to any project and site. Importantly, laws and regulations, and interpretations by government change constantly; for example, the case law affecting agency policies and decisions is constantly evolving and its consideration is beyond the scope of this compilation. The prospective applicant must, therefore, always use due diligence to review the most current adopted language for any statute or rule, and find out current agency policy. All responsible agencies encourage early consultation on projects.

To facilitate the applicant gaining a working understanding of each applicable law, regulation and permit requirement, Internet links to appropriate compilations and discussions are provided, when available. In addition, contact information for responsible agencies is provided, including e-mail addresses and web sites, when available. The information in this guide book is current as of July 2011.