The Kingfish Company received a boost on Friday, 13 August, when a challenge to its wastewater discharge permit for its recirculating aquaculture system farm planned for construction in the U.S. state of Maine was rejected.
An appeal by Sierra Club Maine of the permit was denied by the Maine Board of Environmental Protection.
The combined Maine Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit and Water Discharge License, both approved in June, are needed for Kingfish Maine to be able to release up to 28.7 million gallons of treated wastewater per day into Chandler Bay in Jonesport, Maine – the planned site of the company’s farm. Kingfish Maine revealed its plans for a land-based yellowtail farm in November 2019, with the first phase of development aiming to produce 6,000 metric tons of fish annually.
That permit was appealed by the environmental non-governmental organization on the grounds that “the decision to permit the discharge [of treated fish culture and process wastewater] affects everyone in Maine, from those who enjoy Maine’s waters to Maine’s lobster and fishing industry, because of the far-reaching implications that the waste discharge could have,” the appeal denial states.
“As the nation’s oldest environmental organization, Sierra Club amplifies the power of over 20,000 Sierra Club members and supporters in Maine along with the 31 Sierra Club members and supporters in Jonesport, Maine,” the appeal states.
However, that alone wasn’t enough for Maine BEP Presiding Officer Robert Duchesne to accept the appeal. One of the requirements for filing an appeal of a BEP decision in Maine is to prove through the content of the appeal that the appellant has standing as “an aggrieved person,” Duchesne wrote. Sierra Club Maine’s appeal didn’t meet that threshold, he wrote.
“In consideration of the above, I conclude that Sierra Club Maine has not made the necessary showings that it has standing as an aggrieved person to appeal the department order to the board,” Duchesne wrote. “Sierra Club Maine has not identified any club member or person whose property, pecuniary, or personal rights would be adversely and directly affected by the activity approved by department order in a manner that is distinct from the harm that it alleges will be experienced by the public at large.”
Duchesne went on to note that Sierra Club Maine “did not participate in the underlying licensing proceeding” during the period spanning 5 May to 7 June.
“Sierra Club Maine did not comment on the draft decision, nor did it at any time during the processing of the permit application between 17 August, 2020, and 25 June, 2021, submit comments to the department for consideration,” he wrote.
Maine Department of Environmental Protection Deputy Commissioner David Madore told SeafoodSource that Sierra Club Maine was the only group challenging the permit.
“Sierra Club was the only appellant and they have the option to appeal the presiding officer's decision to the full board,” Madore said. He added that an appeal can also be made to Maine's Superior Court.
Sierra Club Maine could not be reached for comment.
Photo courtesy of Kingfish Maine
