PMFHF Newsletter - Update on Opposition to American Aqua Farms in Frenchman Bay

Good Afternoon,

Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation(PMFHF) was one of several groups under the umbrella of Frenchman Bay United that participated in an informational session in Prospect Harbor recently regarding the proposed American Aquafarms in-water net pen salmon project.  There is a ton of interest regarding what this could mean for the entire state and the lobster industry.

The four groups - Protect Maine (PMFHF), Friends of Frenchman Bay, Friends of Eastern Bay, and Friends of Schoodic Peninsula - are working together to oppose the industrial-scale aquaculture project in Frenchman Bay.  There will be a number of hearings that will be held involving the Department of Enviornmental Protection (DEP), The Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Marine Resources (DMR). The first is the DMR scoping session on the 2 leases totaling more than 120 acres in Frenchman Bay; this will be held remotely on June 23rd.

Here is the information on how to participate:

The scoping will be conducted by Zoom, on Wednesday, June 23, starting at 4:30 p.m. 

Here is the link to the meeting: https://bernsteinshur.zoom.us/j/96166209541?pwd=cDVoYWNOaVhHSXJmWU15S1hxVk1jdz09


For lobstermen and women there will be a training session held by Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation at the MDI Biological Lab starting at 6pm on Monday the 21st. 159 Old Bar Harbor Rd, Bar Harbor, ME 04609. Please enter through the glass doors by the auditorium. If others are interested in attending who are not part of the lobster industry, please let me know by sending me an email at: Protectmaine@gmail.com 

We have much more on this below from the umbrella group around hearing participation, how to contact your elected leaders, and a media update.

Protect Maine has also been presenting to lobster zone councils to give a full statewide picture of large-scale industrial aquaculture, the rules and regulations that have allowed it to happen and what it means to the lobster industry and small aquaculturists.  We will also be submitting a rulemaking petition next week to the Department of Marine Resources that asks them to address the lack of governance that is impacting lobstermen and women, small aquaculturists, and those who recreate on the Maine ocean.  We can’t say it enough – the ocean is a public trust and belongs to everyone.

Finally, as you all know, we are a 501c3 and we are making a donation appeal to continue this important work. We can’t do it alone.   

Please donate directly on our website at protectmaine.com or you can send a check to:

Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation
103 Gleckler Road
Portland, Maine
04103

We appreciate your continued support.

Best,
Crystal Canney
Executive Director & Spokesperson
Protect Maine's Fishing Heritage Foundation 
protectmaine@gmail.com
207-615-5968

EMAIL FROM THE UMBRELLA GROUP – FRENCHMAN BAY UNITED

Frenchman Bay United 
An update on the opposition to American Aquafarms
June 10, 2012

 

Maine DEP accepts wastewater discharge applications – 20 days to request a hearing

On June 9, the Maine DEP has accepted American Aquafarms’ wastewater discharge application as complete. We now have until June 19 to request a public hearing. Here is the DEP regulation:

  • Request for a Hearing on a License Application. The Department shall provide an opportunity for the applicant or any person to request a hearing with respect to any application. A hearing is an opportunity for an applicant, an appellant, any intervenors, and members of the public to provide testimony under oath and for witnesses to be cross-examined on the substance of their testimony. A request for a hearing on an application must be received by the Department, in writing, no later than 20 days after the application is accepted as complete for processing. The request must indicate the interest of the person filing the request and specify the reasons why a hearing is warranted.

Please send your request for a hearing to: Cindy.L.Dionne@maine.gov

Next up – Scoping session on DMR lease applications set for June 23

Now that the Maine Department of Marine Resources has accepted and posted American Aquafarms’ draft lease applications for the Bald Rock and Hop sites, the company is required to hold a public scoping session. 

Much like the “public informational meeting” that the Maine DEP required for the company’s waste discharge applications, the DMR scoping session is a meeting where the applicant explains their tentative proposal to members of the public. It is an opportunity to provide feedback prior to the applicant submitting a final application and an eventual public hearing. 

Although we have requested an in-person public meeting, the scoping will be conducted by Zoom, on Wednesday, June 23, starting at 4:30 p.m. Here is the link to the meeting: https://bernsteinshur.zoom.us/j/96166209541?pwd=cDVoYWNOaVhHSXJmWU15S1hxVk1jdz09

Please plan to attend to offer comments and ask the tough questions that the company doesn’t want to answer. To help you prepare for the scoping session, links to the draft applications for the two lease sites are listed below.

And keep in mind that the Maine DMR has specific criteria on which it will base its decision to grant or deny the lease applications. Please try to speak to these criteria, listed below. FMI, see https://www.maine.gov/dmr/aquaculture/documents/decisioncriteria.docx.pdf

A standard aquaculture lease must not unreasonably interfere with: 

  • The ingress and egress of riparian owners. 

  • Navigation. 

  • Fishing or other uses of the area. 

  • Another aquaculture uses. 

  • The ability of the site and surrounding areas to support ecologically significant flora and fauna; or 

  • The public use or enjoyment within 1,000 feet of beaches, parks, or docks owned by local, state, or federal governments or certain government-owned conserved land. 

In addition:

  • The applicant must demonstrate that there is an available source of organisms to be cultured for the lease site. 

  • The lease must not result in unreasonable impact from noise or light at the boundaries of the lease site, and it must comply with DMR rules to minimize the visual impact of the lease. 

We are making a difference.

American Aquafarms had some company at its information session last Saturday at the Gouldsboro town Park – us!  The roads leading to the park were filled with opposition signs and several groups from our coalition set up tables and displays at the event. More than 150 people showed up and the vast majority – 95% by some estimates – were dead set against the project.

Speaking about “the Hop” lease site, South Gouldsboro lobsterman Jerry Potter told The Ellsworth American: “That area is loaded with traps. I can’t even imagine it. I am 100 percent against it. It is going to be a lot of noise, a lot of pollution, round the clock.”

And organic seaweed farmer Sarah Redmond, also of South Gouldsboro, had this to say: “I do think it’s a threat to my ability to operate and produce clean, healthy seafood. We really rely on the health of Frenchman Bay.” 

Here is a link to the full article: https://www.ellsworthamerican.com/maine-news/american-aquafarms-reps-critics-take-sides-at-gouldsboro-park/

Ways you can help

While the permitting process is getting underway, there are many ways to help:

  • Make sure you participate in all upcoming “scoping sessions” and public hearings.

  • Provide written comments on all applications once they are filed.

  • Write your state legislators, Governor Mills, Maine’s Congressional delegation and local selectmen. Your voice matters!

  • Write letters to the editor of local and statewide newspapers.

  • Talk to friends and neighbors.

  • Follow us on social media and share with your networks.

  • Consider making a donation to support this effort.

As a reminder, here are some of the key reasons why this project is bad for Maine and our bay:

It will end the balance that has existed for generations among the many users of the bay: the dozens of people who fish for lobsters, scallops and mussels; clammers; mussel, oyster and kelp farmers; year-round and seasonal residents; tourists and tourism businesses; researchers and educators; and recreational boaters. That balance and the health of the bay is now threatened.

It will take prime fishing ground from lobstermen and impact other fisheries, like scallops, shrimp and mussels. Every day, three large ships and many small boats will cut through fishing gear and pollute some of the cleanest water in Maine, the class SA waters off Schoodic Point.

This industrial development has no place in the waters off Acadia National Park, a key driver of Maine’s tourism economy and a crown jewel of the national park system. 

The company will be using experimental semi-closed pens that have never been used on a scale this large anywhere in the world. They could never build a project this large or pack fish so densely in pens in their home country of Norway. So, why here?

There will be water pollution from 4.1 billion gallons of untreated effluent produced daily by fish waste and feed, more than 2000 times the 2MGD treated effluent from the Bar Harbor’s waste treatment plant, and incredibly, more than three times the 1.3 billion gallons of treated discharge from the 14 sewage treatment plants that serve all of New York City.

There will be air and noise pollution from 40 diesel generators burning 3-4 million gallons of diesel fuel annually to power pumps and lights, plus light pollution at night from the 30 illuminated pens. A land-based incinerator will burn the sludge biproducts.

The likelihood of fish escapes, die-offs and disease that will impact other species and organisms.

Opposition groups

Please join one of these groups for the latest information and to support their role as leading opponents of the American Aquafarms’ proposal.

Friends of Frenchman Bay  http://friendsoffrenchmanbay.org

Friends of Eastern Bay  www.friendsofeasternbay.org

Friends of Schoodic Peninsula  www.facebook.com/salmonproposal/

Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation  www.protectmaine.com


Key agencies

Maine Department of Marine Resources
Patrick Keliher, Commissioner
21 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
www.maine.gov/dmr/aquaculture/index.html

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Jay L. Clement, Senior Project Manager
Maine Project Office
442 Civic Center Drive, Suite 350
Augusta, Maine 04330
jay.l.clement@usace.army.mil

Maine Department of Environmental Protection

Melanie Loyzim, Commissioner
17 State House Station
28 Tyson Drive
Augusta, Maine 04333-0017
www.maine.gov/dep/contact/index.html

Governor and Congressional Delegation
 

Governor T. Janet Mills
1 State House Station 
Augusta, ME 04333 
207-287-3531
www.maine.gov/governor/mills/contact

U.S. Senator Angus King
202 Harlow St., Suite 20350 
Bangor, ME 04401 
Phone: (207) 945-8000
www.king.senate.gov/contact


U.S Senator Susan Collins
202 Harlow Street, Room 20100
Bangor, ME 04401
Main: (207) 945-0417
www.collins.senate.gov/contact


U.S. Rep. Jared Golden
6 State Street, Suite 101
Bangor, ME 04401
(207) 249-7400
https://golden.house.gov/contact
 

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree
2 Portland Fish Pier, Suite 304
Portland, ME 04101
(207) 774-5019 
pingree.house.gov/contact/

State Legislators who represent towns on the bay

Hancock County
State Sen. Louis Luchini
P.O. Box 1311
Ellsworth, ME 04605
(207) 664-4699
Louis.Luchini@legislature.maine.gov

Gouldsboro, Hancock, Sorrento, Sullivan, Winter Harbor 
State Rep. William “Billy Bob” Faulkingham
P.O. Box 121
Winter Harbor, ME 04693
Cell: (207) 460-6967
William.Faulkingham@legislature.maine.gov

Bar Harbor, Lamoine, Mt. Desert 
State Rep. Lynne Williams
13 Albert Meadow
Bar Harbor, ME 04609
Cell: (207) 266-6327
Lynne.Williams@legislature.maine.gov

Trenton
Rep. Nicole Grohoski
P.O. Box 1732
Ellsworth, ME 04605
Cell: (207) 358-8333
Nicole.Grohoski@legislature.maine.gov


Town governments

http://www.barharbormaine.gov
https://www.gouldsborotown.com
http://www.hancockmaine.org
http://www.lamoine-me.gov
http://sorrentomaine.blogspot.com/p/town-office-info.html
https://sullivanmaine.org
https://www.trentonme.com

News media

Bangor Daily News
https://bangordailynews.com/submit/

Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram
https://www.pressherald.com/reader-services/letters-editor/

The Ellsworth American
news@ellsworthamerican.com
(350-word limit for letters)

Mount Desert Islander
news@mdislander.com 
(350-word limit for letters; 500 for op-eds)