Court rules in favor of land-based salmon farm in Belfast mudflat dispute
Courtesy / Nordic Aquafarms Inc.
This rendering from 2019 shows the proposed site and layout for Nordic Aquafarms’ land-based aquaculture facility in Belfast.
A proposal to build a land-based salmon farm in Belfast is expected to proceed to final project planning, now that a dispute over a patch of shoreline mudflats has been resolved.
Maine Superior Court Justice Robert Murray on Thursday ruled in favor of Nordic Aquafarms in the lawsuit, brought by Jeffrey Mabee and other opponents of the project.
In his ruling, Murray said the plaintiffs in the case possess no land ownership rights impacting the project and that their alleged conservation easement does not exist over Nordic’s project area.
The company is proposing to build an end-to-end operation, on 54 acres, that would have an annual salmon production capacity of 30,000 metric tons, or 66 million pounds, along with hatcheries and fish processing facilities.
The initial phase of the project, expected to cost $150 million, received state and local permits in 2020 and a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers earlier this year. When completed, the facility would likely be the first large-scale, land-based recirculating aquaculture system in New England.
Nordic and the city of Belfast identified a stretch of intertidal land under which the company could run intake and discharge pipes from the upland facility to Belfast Bay.
But neighboring landowners said they own the identified mudflats and took the matter to court.
In August, the Belfast City Council voted to resolve the matter by seizing the mudflat by eminent domain.
In his decision last week, Murray called the plaintiffs’ theory of ownership a “convoluted reading” of the property description.
Erik Heim, Nordic’s president, said that, with the ruling, the project can proceed to final Maine project planning.
“Nordic is in this for the long haul,” said Marianne Naess, Nordic’s executive vice president and spokesperson. “Nordic looks forward to moving into the next phase of engineering and project planning.”
“Nordic has the green light to move forward with this ruling,” Naess told Mainebiz in a follow-up email.
Nordic has worked for several years on the project with SMRT Architects and Engineers in Portland as the architect and several years ago selected Gilbane, a construction company based in Providence, R.I., as its construction management partner. Nordic is also working with its recirculating aquaculture system engineers in Denmark.
Final cost estimates for the project will be completed as the company finishes detailed engineering and planning.
The project planning that remains includes the detailed engineering and construction planning Nordic needs to do before it can break ground. It's estimated that will take eight to nine months.
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Great news! We may not run around hysterically shouting and waving placards like the opposition, but there's a silent majority in Belfast (and I'm willing to bet, across Maine as well) that's right behind you, Nordic! And rightly so - leading technology in terrestrial aquaculture expressed in an economically viable project, sensibly and rationally managing risk and rewards through sound compromise, with a long term market eager for the product combined with local jobs and investment. All on mid-coast Maine. Stay the course, Nordic. Your facility is a window into the future of aquaculture business in this state!
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