Sponsor Pulls Plug on Aquaculture Building Code Exemption by Ethan Andrews Tuesday, June 1, 2021 1:42 PM A bill that would have exempted land-based aquaculture from the state’s building and energy code has been voted down in committee at the request of the sponsor. To what extent companies planning such facilities will have to comply with the code remains unclear. LD 1473, an emergency governor’s bill sponsored by Sen. Kimberley Rosen, R-Hancock County, was written by the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development at the request of Whole Oceans, the company that is developing a land-based salmon farm on the former paper mill site in Bucksport. According to DECD, Whole Oceans asked for the exemption because the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code (MUBEC) would have required it to install sprinkler and air handling systems it felt were not necessary for land-based aquaculture buildings. DECD spokeswoman Kate Foye previously told The Free Press that the bill was written as a broad exemption for the industry in anticipation of other companies facing similar obstacles. Foye did not respond to an email seeking comment for this article.