A unanimous five-member Maine Supreme Judicial Court panel on Thursday decided to vacate a previous property rights determination, putting back into question whether Nordic Aquafarms will be able to use intertidal land needed for its planned 33,000 metric ton land-based salmon farm in Belfast, Maine.
The panel ruled that a mudflat Nordic requires for outflow pipes for its land-based salmon farm belongs to Jeffrey Mabee and Judith Grace. The landowners filed a lawsuit in 2019 against Nordic, protesting use of the land for its project.
"It’s our belief that this decision should nullify the various state permits that Nordic had obtained as well as the permits, licenses and leases they obtained," Kim Ervin Tucker, one of the attorneys for Mabee and Grace, told IntraFish following the decision.
The lawsuit against Nordic is based on language from the 1946 deed of the land's former owner, Harriet L. Hartley. The Maine court determined the 1946 deed terminated the parcel conveyed at the high water mark of Penobscot Bay -- with Hartley retaining ownership of the adjacent intertidal land -- and states no businesses for profit are to be conducted on the land unless agreed to by Hartley, her heirs or designated individuals.
Nordic Aquafarms spokeperson Jacki Cassida told IntraFish the company has "always recognized this could be a possible outcome."
"At this juncture, Nordic will be taking the time to review the court’s decision and evaluate our options," she said.
The intertidal case will return to the City of Belfast to proceed with the process of eminent domain, which had been stayed for the court ruling. The intertidal mud flats abut the property now owned by the city. In the city’s statement, the Belfast mayor and city council reiterated their commitment to this project because of what they said is the public benefit to the residents of Belfast.
Nordic Aquafarms' former executive Marianne Naess previously told IntraFish the company had already obtained intertidal access for the project through neighboring landowners, the Eckrotes. But the decision Thursday vacated a previous ruling in favor of Nordic Aquafarms and the Eckrotes on ownership of the mudflats, putting the construction timeline of Nordic Aquafarms into question.
The company told IntraFish last yearitwas on a timeline to start construction in the fall of this year.
Tucker pointed out the permits, licenses and leases from local and state regulatory agencies have all been based on Nordic having "title, right or interest to bury its pipes based on an easement option from the Eckrotes."
"The decision today means that the Eckrotes never had the legal capacity to grant Nordic that easement," she said.
Litigation challenging the local and state permits, licenses and leases is currently pending in the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
Nordic Aquafarms Inc., whose Maine facility has been priced as high as $500 million (€496 million) to build, was spun off from Norwegian parent group Nordic Aquafarms, together with a proposed project in Humboldt, California.
Erik Heim founded the company in Norway eight years ago, pioneering commercial salmon farming in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) in the country before moving on to kingfish and then launching in the United States with two large-scale projects in Maine on the country's northeast coast and in California.
Heim and partner Marianne Naess left the company last year. This week, the pair launched a new 5,000 metric ton land-based salmon project in Millinocket, Maine.
The project, called Katahdin Salmon, will cost between $120 million (€113 million) and $140 million (€131 million).
