On December 21, 2020, the Pen Bay Pilot published a letter from me about a Belfast Water District demand that I pay $1,500 for the district to process 91 pages of emails pertaining  to the proposed Nordic Aquafarms industrial fish farm that I had requested under the Maine Freedom of Access Act. 

In 2018, the City of Belfast processed more than 100 pages of Nordic-related emails for free, and now none other than the office of Governor Janet Mills has done its part to expose the absurdity of the Water District’s extortion racket.

On February 5, the governor’s office sent me 127 pages of Nordic-related emails. The charge? Nothing. Nada. Zilch. To process fully 40% more than what I have requested of the Belfast Water District.

In a November 4, 2020 email, Governor Mills Special Assistant Tim Feeley estimated my FOAA processing cost at $45, but in the end the charge was waived. Forty-five dollars for 127 pages. That’s 35 cents a page. And the Belfast Water District wants $1,500 for 91 pages. That’s $16.48 a page. That’s 47 times as much, per page.

And that is an outrage. The Water District’s website touts its “service to the community.” Clearly the district needs to update its website.

Lawrence Reichard lives in Belfast