Testimony Heard on Mint Distillery Bill

Charles Weaver
Charles Weaver

Starke County Economic Development Foundation Director, Charles Weaver, testified last week on a legislative bill that would lessen the requirement for mint farmers of having to acquire burdensome permits and regulations that could force them to not continue in that farming field. According to Weaver’s testimony, none of the mint farmers in Starke County know if they will be able to extract the oil from the crop because of the permit issue.

Following the receipt of testimony by the Starke County Economic Development Foundation, mint farmers and IDEM, the House Committee deleted all of the provisions of the bill and instead inserted language that would not allow IDEM to impose any permit requirements for mint distillation operations. This prohibition would hold until a study has been completed by the Environmental Quality Service Council that will look at the actual and potential air emissions created by the distillation of mint and whether this process should be considered as a farming operation under current Indiana rules and regulations.