In the lawsuit, nonprofit Upstream Watch accuses Nordic Aquafarms and the city of making several errors in their permitting process.
BELFAST, Maine — An environmental nonprofit group is once again battling a proposed multimillion-dollar fish farm project in Belfast.
In a lawsuit filed at the end of December, Upstream Watch accuses Nordic Aquafarms and the city of making several errors in their permitting process.
“We see Nordic as harming what we value most,” Jill Howell, director of Upstream Watch, said while standing next to Belfast Bay.
Howell has been opposing the fish farm project for more than six years and argues the site’s ecological value makes it unsuitable for development.
“This is undeveloped forested land, with wetlands and streams of significant ecological and community value,” Howell explained. “Development will continue to happen, but it shouldn’t be happening on conservation land.”
The lawsuit seeks to nullify five land-use permits the city granted to Nordic Aquafarms. Howell claims the permitting process overlooked key environmental concerns, including the potential for pollution in Belfast Bay.
“We don’t feel like [Nordic’s] wastewater treatment is good enough to not cause harm to the bay,” Howell added.
City officials, however, insist the permitting process was conducted meticulously.
“The city of Belfast does not mess around with permitting. What they do is thorough, great work,” Mayor Eric Sanders said.
Bob Fournier, Belfast’s director of code and planning, emphasized that the board held more than 40 meetings to review the permit applications.
“There’s a lot of details, a lot of sections, and the zoning board of appeals went through every single item,” Fournier said.
Kim Tucker is an attorney for The Friends of the Hariet L. Hartley Conservation Area. The group seeks to protect the area where Nordic has proposed its fish farm and raised additional concerns about public access to trails on the conservation trails in the area.
“Instead of preserving the walking trails, this easement gives Nordic and its successors the right to exclude the public from that area,” she explained.
Nordic Aquafarms did not have a comment at the time of this report but still holds the five permits in question. Despite ongoing opposition, some city officials see the fish farm as a potential economic opportunity.
“Seven years on, and I’m still waiting for that opportunity for Nordic to see if they can do it or not,” Sanders said.