In the midst of a health and economic crisis it’s been disheartening to continue to hear from salmon farm opponents. While people are dying, while the entire world is locked down, while people everywhere are putting their very bodies and lives in harm’s way to serve and protect us the Belfast salmon farm opposition grinds on.

The words they use explain their passion. They call people like myself  “collaborators” and a company like Nordic “foreign invaders,”, the City of Belfast are “prostitutes and on the take,” they use terminology like “destroy” with no proof but plenty of belief. You can see this in action on our state and national stage.

Today’s tens of thousands of Belfast area people are out of work. Beloved small businesses are on the brink of survival. Belfast area school workers and bus drivers have delivered tens of thousands of school lunches to qualified children. We face an economic and health crisis of unknown proportions.

While my business is closed, while our city fights for health and economic recovery, while we are all in this together, wearing masks and suffering from too much distance I’ll take a moment to pause and give you the perspective of one person serving on the Belfast City Council.

Where are we on this more than two-year slog?

To date the opposition has lost every battle but they are not done fighting.

Every past and present Mayor and City Council member has supported the salmon farm.   The opponents have failed to convince the people of Belfast of their arguments to the degree that they were not able to field one winning candidate in six elections.

They failed to convince every judge to whom they have made their various cases.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources found their arguments to be without merit and that the project as proposed is manageable by the many agencies that will be providing permitting and oversight. 

One property owner’s neighbors refuse to join them in a lawsuit seeking to block access to the bay. Will they now file suit against their neighbors to force them to join them? It’s doubtful because if they cannot convince their neighbors why would a judge be convinced? 

The Maine Bureau of Environmental Protection has rejected all of the claims for delay and further filings and will release their first ruling on the application this May 21. The Belfast Planning Board has been working through the application.

At some point, the Army Corps of Engineers will be involved to manage the intake and outflow pipes. All of this should become clearer by early August.

If and when the project is permitted it is on to the inevitable appeals and possible further lawsuits. All of this will continue to take time.

All along the opponents have banked on Nordic Aquaculture being delayed enough to force them to go elsewhere: Delay to deny.

The many months of consideration have served to steel the resolve of the many supporters for whatever the timeframe takes. I hope that Nordic Aquaculture who arrived never expecting this level of disinformation and distortion will have the perseverance and fortitude to stick with us as we near the beginning of the end of the opposition.

From the beginning,  my fellow city council members have shared the view that we support the project because we  have enough water, there will be no significant pollution, and the rest of the project issues are manageable.

If the farm were under construction today it would require 200 to 300 construction workers for the next three years. It will employ nearly 100 full time workers with many different pay and skill levels.

As the City of Belfast and all people face an enormous budget shortfall due to the pandemic Nordic would have more than offset those losses and will lower the tax burden for the people of Belfast into the future. The opponents have routinely dismissed the enormous positive aspects: the jobs and the economic advantages of this project. Can they continue to do so today?

I wish this report were shorter. It’s been two years and five months since Nordic Aquaculture announced their hopes of building in Belfast. The process has been arduous and requires tenacity to continue onwards. We’ve come this far; let’s stay the course and we will get there.

Today my heart and my eyes are on Belfast and our area.

We, all of us, are suffering together through this health and economic pandemic. We will come through this.  R

egardless of Nordic’s project we have ahead of us a lot of work to do and much to endure.  It’s not going to be fun. Hard times make strong people. Bear up Belfast. Hold fast. We will come through this and be better than we were, which was pretty good, so be strong, stay well, stay safe. 

Thanks for your consideration.

Mike Hurley is a Belfast City Councilor