Maine DEP asks Nordic Aquafarms for more information before issuing permits

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has asked Nordic Aquafarms for more information regarding the path of its discharge pipe, due to a state law that could mean the pipe’s current path crosses private property the company doesn’t have rights to. 

Nordic Aquafarms – which announced plans to build a salmon recirculating aquaculture system in Belfast, Maine a year ago – has been steadily moving forward on the regulatory processes required to build the first, USD 150 million (EUR 130.8 million) phase. However, Maine state law governing the rights of ownership in the intertidal zone have caused the DEP to delay a permit for the company’s intake and discharge pipes. 

In Maine, property owners own land extending all the way to the lowest water point, which includes ownership of the intertidal zone. According to opponents of the project, the current routing of Nordic’s pipes would cause it to cross private property. 

According to The Republican Journal, the Maine DEP is concerned enough about the issue that they’re requesting further information. 

Nordic currently has a required easement across upland property the pipes would cross, but now the ownership of the intertidal zone, and whether the company has the rights to cross Route 1, is in dispute. 

Brian Kavanah, acting co-director of the DEP’s bureau of water quality, has asked Nordic to submit further materials indicating it has the rights to use the land that would be crossed by the salmon farm’s pipes. 

The company has until 6 February to provide the documents. 

Photo courtesy of Nordic Aquafarms