Belfast salmon farm proposal receives final OK, but project stalled by mudflat dispute
Courtesy / Nordic Aquafarms
This rendering from 2019 shows the proposed site and layout for Nordic Aquafarms’ land-based aquaculture facility in Belfast.
Nordic Aquafarms, the Norwegian firm proposing construction of a land-based salmon farm in Belfast, has received the last permit needed to get the operation off the ground, the company said Monday.
Actual ground, however, remains a point of contention. The city of Belfast still needs to resolve a title dispute over an intertidal area where discharge pipes for the facility are planned.
Now the Belfast City Council is considering taking the disputed area by eminent domain, a process by which a government can take private property for public use with payment or other compensation.
The council will hold a public hearing on the matter on Aug. 12.
Final permit
Nordic said it received a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, making the Belfast project the first large-scale, land-based recirculating aquaculture system to be fully permitted in New England.
The company, whose U.S. headquarters are in Portland, received all other necessary state and local permits in 2020.
With permits in place, Nordic can move into the final stages of engineering and construction planning.
However, there are some outstanding appeals on some of the permits.
“We have assessed those thoroughly and are very comfortable with the risk,” Erik Heim, the company’s president, said in a news release. “We look forward to moving ahead in short order.”
Intertidal dispute
Also remaining to be resolved is a title dispute over a stretch of mudflat Nordic needs in order to run pipes from the upland facility to Belfast Bay.
Last week, the City Council voted to authorize posting of a notice of intent to exercise eminent domain to clear up the ambiguities.
At the council’s meeting last week, the city’s attorney, Bill Kelly, said the council has the right to clear defective title by exercising eminent domain for the public benefit.
Kelly noted the matter dates back to January 2018, when Nordic entered an agreement to acquire land on U.S. Route 1, on Belfast’s outskirts, that belongs to the Belfast Water District, which would relocate its office and garages to a new site.
According to the terms of agreement, Nordic would purchase water from the district, providing annual revenue, which would allow the district to replace aging infrastructure and reduce rates for customers.
Later that year, the city amended its comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance to allow land-based aquaculture use at the site.
By December 2020, Nordic had obtained the city and state permits it needed for the facility.
Land appraisal
The land deal was expected to close in 2018. But the closing has been delayed by title claims filed by neighboring residents. This past May, the city engaged an appraiser to determine the value of the title claims. The appraisal came through in early July.
Based on the findings, the council authorized sending compensation offers to claimants. The offer expired July 22 and resulted in one payout.
On July 27, the council met in executive session to discuses next steps.
“We are now at that next step with this notice of intent,” said Kelly.
Said Councilor Michael Hurley, “What’s contemplated is a ditch across the tidal flats that a couple of pipes will go in.”
Nordic has said the facility, if it goes forward, will be one of the world’s largest land-based salmon farms, with a total capital investment expected to be between $450 million and $500 million for an end-to-end operation, on 54 acres, that includes hatcheries and fish processing
The goal is to construct in several phases a land-based salmon operation with annual salmon production capacity of 30,000 metric tons, or 66 million pounds. The first phase was expected to cost $150 million.
Belfast was selected after the company assessed international markets and conducted comprehensive site searches throughout New England.
The company operates three recirculating aquaculture system farms in Scandinavia, and has a proposal underway to build a similar facility in Humboldt County, Calif.
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