Dear Nordic Aquafarms’ Investors: Nordic’s development team has likely informed you about the recent decision by the Belfast Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) to not hear the appeal. The ZBA’s purpose is to create a mechanism for citizens to be heard in cases of alleged errors in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made in the permitting process.   Unfortunately for you, the investor, Nordic, had an opportunity to take a step forward and push for the ZBA process to be completed right then and there. Instead, Nordic’s attorney spent quite some time arguing against due process. It made no sense. Why, actively seek to delay this process?    Does Nordic think the record will magically get better for them in the future? You should know, it can’t, and it won’t. The record is closed and will be the same now, or after a few months, or a few years - waiting for the courts to hear these concerns.   What did Nordic think was the worst thing that could happen if the appeal was properly heard?   The appeal is simply to send the permits back to the Planning Board so that Nordic could provide the proper information to ensure that their design and consumption of resources have no fatal flaws. If there is no concern, why not just go through it and come out the other side with a full and complete permit?   Well, as an investor, you should know that as of now, Nordic has not provided adequate information to confirm or deny potential fatal design flaws with respect to available power, available water, access to the bay, dredging, invalidated outfall mixing, and numerous other concerns.   Nordic’s actions to argue to delay the inevitable ZBA hearings strongly suggests that they understand the fatal flaws more than the current information in the record shows.   

Once a pandemic-stressed court system has time to hear the case, the intent of any ZBA process will prevail in court and be returned to the exact place it was - as a ZBA appeal. This delay tactic will do nothing but cost you, the investors, time and money.

Michael Lannan, P.E., on n behalf of the Belfast-based nonprofit Upstream Watch