Parties involved in lawsuits related to the defunct Nordic Aquafarms fish farm proposal in Belfast haven’t agreed on much during six months of settlement talks, but they came together to jointly ask the court to set a schedule for filings to resolve some of the outstanding claims.
Justice Michael Duddy granted their motion Sept. 15 and set a schedule. Attorney Kim Ervin Tucker promptly filed a motion that same day to establish her clients as the prevailing parties in the eminent domain litigation against Nordic and the city, together with a revised motion for damages, costs and attorney fees — and started the clock ticking a month ahead of schedule.
Both motions stem from the city of Belfast’s failed attempt to take land by eminent domain for Nordic’s benefit. Tucker represents Jeffrey Mabee and Judith Grace, who own the intertidal land Nordic needed for its proposed land-based fish farm’s industrial pipes to the bay, and the Friends of Harriet L. Hartley Conservation Area, which holds a court-validated conservation easement on those mudflats.
Ultimately, the city was compelled to vacate its condemnation of the property, some of which actually lies outside Belfast’s boundaries.
Court rules give Nordic Aquafarms and the city of Belfast until Oct. 6 — 21 days from Sept. 15 — to file their opposition, and the “MGF Plaintiffs,” as they are called in court documents, have 14 days from that filing date to reply.
Mabee, Grace and Friends are seeking $587,166.61, which includes $564,645 for two attorneys and paralegal services, $21,732.50 in surveyor fees, and the balance in court costs, all incurred over the last four years.
In an Aug. 29 letter to the Midcoast Villager, Andrew Stevenson of the Friends wrote that the plaintiffs offered a “fair and amicable settlement with the city — on terms that would have cost taxpayers far less than the full value of our legal defense,” but the city would not agree.
On Oct. 6, the MGF Plaintiffs go to Waldo County Superior Court in separate litigation seeking damages, attorney fees and costs from Nordic Aquafarms in a “slander of title” lawsuit. Mabee, Grace and Friends sued Nordic and won, in a case that went all the way to the state’s highest court. In February 2023, the Law Court ruled unanimously that Jeffrey Mabee and Judith Grace owned the intertidal land in which Nordic claimed to have an ownership interest, that the Friends held a valid and enforceable conservation easement on that land, and that the adjacent upland lot Nordic also needed for its intake and effluent pipes is protected from industrial development by a deed restriction.
Meanwhile, Upstream Watch (recently renamed Penobscot Bay Waterkeeper) is under contract to purchase the 54 acres Nordic owns west of Route 1, with plans to conserve it. Upstream was originally formed to oppose Nordic’s proposed $500 million salmon farm because of its potentially adverse environmental impact on Penobscot Bay. Nordic said its operation would discharge up to 1,480 pounds of nitrogen daily into the bay; opponents said the levels would be considerably higher.
Waterkeeper Executive Director Pete Nichols said the organization has raised about two-thirds of the funds it needs to lock in by Oct. 13, and he anticipates closing the acquisition in early November.
Ironically, Jeffrey Mabee and Judith Grace initially thought the salmon farm would be a good idea for Belfast. Their house and property, including the intertidal strip that runs past adjacent lots, were on the market when Nordic Aquafarms came to town in 2018 — and the Norwegian aquacultural company could have purchased it outright.
Instead, Nordic pursued another course of action to obtain the bay access it needed for its fish farm. As a result, retirees Mabee and Grace were forced to take their property off the market and deal with the resulting “cloud” on the title to their land, which still exists because of deeds in the land records that contain information the courts have determined is false. In January, Nordic abandoned its plans for Belfast. In the trial that goes to court Oct. 6, longtime Belfast residents Mabee and Grace seek to recoup their losses from having to hold the property until the clouds could be removed.
