Update on Sierra Club’s Kingfish Maine Appeal
Massive, polluting finfish aquaculture facilities have been trying to develop in Maine for the past few years. Though these companies promise jobs, many of them have significant environmental impacts, polluting our waterways on a massive scale. As part of our Aquaculture Team’s efforts to ensure non-polluting aquaculture projects in our waters, we have decided to strategically intervene when possible.
One such facility, Kingfish Maine, Inc applied for permits for a land-based recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) in August 2020 in Jonesport. Kingfish Maine filed for a new Maine Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (MEPDES) permit/Waste Discharge License (WDL) for a daily maximum discharge of 28.7 million gallons per day of treated wastewater to Chandler Bay in Jonesport. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) conditionally approved the discharge in a combined MEPDES permit on June 25, 2021. Shortly thereafter, Sierra Club Maine coordinated a team of volunteers to create a plan to reduce the environmental impact of this project alongside other activists working on this issue across the state.
On July 22, 2021 Sierra Club filed an appeal of the Waste Discharge License with the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP). With the help of our legal intern and volunteer team, we quickly drafted an appeal - our Chapter’s first administrative appeal for this project. Unfortunately the appeal was dismissed on August 12, 2021 for failure to demonstrate standing and for not complying with the BEP’s requirements for the content of appeals.
In early 2021, Kingfish Maine applied for a Site Location of Development Act permit to construct the recirculating aquaculture facility. Kingfish Maine also applied for a Natural Resources Protection Act (NRPA) permit, as the water intake and outfall pipes would result in direct adverse impacts to coastal wetlands, including freshwater. On November 12, 2021, the DEP issued a combined permit under the Site Law and NRPA approving the proposal. On December 13, 2021, Sierra Club Maine, alongside the other appellants, submitted appeals of the Site Law and NRPA permit decision (Department Order) to the BEP.
The BEP held a hearing on August 4 for our appeal, but they sided with the DEP and upheld the permit decision. While we were disappointed and believe they made the wrong decision, there were some promising discussions at the hearing regarding potential new policy for this nascent industry, as the regulators did feel tied to the current regulations, but were sympathetic to our concerns.
We continue to work alongside other coalition partners in weighing our next steps in this case and others, but one thing is clear, we need new policy around industrial finfish operations, and possibly other types of polluting aquaculture. In the meantime, it’s important to remember that we have alternatives to industrial fish factories. First and foremost, we need to focus on restoring native wild fisheries wherever possible. Maine’s future can also include small to modest-sized shellfish and seaweed aquaculture, land-based zero-effluent and aquaponic polyculture operated by small-holders. There is still quite a bit of policy formation in this area, so please stay tuned!