Nordic Aquafarms, which is planning a land-based salmon RAS in Humboldt County, California, U.S.A., has successfully overcome an appeal of an environmental report it submitted to the Humboldt County Planning Commission.
In July 2022, Nordic faced a contentious public hearing in front of the commission, which was deciding whether to approve a special permit and a development permit for its USD 500 million (EUR 510 million) project, along with a debate over whether or not to certify the company’s environmental impact report. After the first hearing stretched on for hours, the commission decided to hold a second hearing, at which it granted the company the key permits.
However, three local groups, the Redwood Region Audubon Society, 350 Humboldt, and the Humboldt Fishermen’s Marketing Association, challenged the determination. The organizations argued the certified environmental impact report inadequately analyzed the scope of the project, including the size of its greenhouse gas emissions and other biological concerns, the Times-Standard reported. But on 28 September, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 to deny the appeal.
“Nordic’s project, as shown in the EIR and further reinforced by today’s overwhelming vote of support by the board of supervisors is meeting, if not exceeding, the California Environmental Quality Act guidelines,” Nordic Aquafarms Interim CEO Brenda Chandler said in a release. “We are committed to 100 percent renewable and/or carbon-free energy and will always strive to be progressive in meeting our goals as a sustainable and traceable source of fresh fish, in the U.S. market.”
Chandler said the company will “look to balance what is possible and practical in all areas” as it advances its California RAS project.
Just a few days before Nordic’s success, Oslo, Norway-based aquaculture firm AquaCon also faced hostility at a meeting it hosted in Federalsburg, Maryland, to detail its plan to build a 1.2 million-square-foot RAS facility in Cambridge, Maryland, U.S.A. The company, which has received backing from AKVA, Nutreco, and Israel Corp, was recently granted a permit by the Maryland Department of the Environment to allow it to discharge up to 2.3 million gallons of water daily into a local tributary, the Marshyhope Creek.
The Dorchester Star reported the 19 September meeting featured residents who grew “more outspoken” as the meeting went on and ultimately held an informal tally determining that a majority present opposed the project. In August 2022, a separate meeting hosted by Maryland state officials regarding the Department of the Environment’s permitting decision, also featured commentors hostile to AquaCon's proposal. The Southern Maryland Chronicle reported that of two dozen public commenters, just one was in favor of the project.
Image courtesy of Nordic Aquafarms
