In a Friday, Dec. 18th filing to Waldo County Superior Court, attorneys for Belfast landowners Jeffrey Mabee and Judith Grace laid out a three-pronged attack on the Maine Bureau of Environmental Protection (BEP) Nov. 19th rules granting Nordic Aquafarms (NAF) four permits needed to construct its fish-raising factory. 

Lawyers for embattled landowners, Jeffrey Mabee and Judith Grace, struck back at strongarm tactics of Nordic Aquafarms (NAF) with a December 5th filing in Waldo County Superior Court that points out NAF’s underlying goal is to jack up the cost of Jeffrey and Judith’s defense.

A July 7th decision by Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court has the potential to halt any further consideration of Nordic Aquafarms’ (NAF) permit applications before the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP)…and all other local and State permitting agencies.

Last Friday afternoon, Maine Superior Court judge, Robert Murray, handed down four rulings that clear the way for a decision on who owns the intertidal zone through which Nordic Aquafarms, Inc. (NAF) wants to construct its saltwater intake and wastewater discharge pipes. 

Thursday, May 7th, Maine’s Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) issued its 16th Procedural Order in the matter of Nordic Aquafarms (NAF) permit applications, rejecting arguments that the dredging and removal of bay bottom sediments known to contain methylated mercury justifies additional precautions.

In an April 16th, 9:00 a.m. teleconference call open to the public, four BEP Commissioners heard arguments for and against a motion to dismiss Nordic Aquafarms, Inc. (NAF) pending permit applications, voted not to hold a formal adjudicatory hearing on the question of “TRI” -- Title, Right, or Interest – and denied a motion to dismiss the company’s pending permit applications based on NAF’s lack of TRI.

With the latest wave of public interest in the Nordic Aquafarms permit applications receding, now is a good time to spend an evening looking at the bigger picture of sustainable economies and communities around the Penobscot Bay. On Thursday, March 5th, spend a thoughtful evening at “Living in the Web of Life,” a 2-panel public forum exploring the connections that humans share among themselves, with other creatures, and the environment.

The creation of the Friends of Harriet L. Hartley Conservation Area is a result of passionate and forward-looking action by many individuals coming together with a moral imperative.

A new citizen-action organization joins the controversy surrounding a proposed fish-raising operation on the outskirts of Belfast.

Dr. Harriet L. Hartley, born in 1874, was a nationally acclaimed pediatrician and professor of surgery in the early 20th century. She was a pioneer, championing in the role of women in medicine, advocating for the vaccination of children and promoting public health.