The Jonesport Planning Board held a special public hearing Wednesday to gather public feedback on recommended changes to the town’s Land Use and Development and Shoreland Zoning ordinances.
The proposed amendments primarily give Kingfish Maine 30 months to begin its land-based aquaculture project.
Town permits now allow a holder only 24 months to demonstrate a “substantial start,” which ordinances define as completing 30 percent of the project.
Frank Smith, chair of the Jonesport Planning Board, highlighted the difficulty Kingfish faced under current town permit requirements to complete 30 percent of a project within 24 months.
“When you’re talking a $100 million or more project, you can’t just get 30 percent of it done overnight,” Smith said. “So we were trying to give more time.”
Smith also noted a bill the Maine Legislature considered earlier this year that would have upgraded Chandler Bay to a pristine SA classification.
Kingfish hopes to build its 22-acre Recirculating Aquaculture System on the bay. An SA classification bans all wastewater discharge, which would have halted the project entirely.
“If they had started construction during this process, and then it had been changed to an SA classification instead of an SB, they wouldn’t have been able to proceed,” Smith said. “So spending any money on the project at that point would have been in my opinion premature.”
Smith added: “I would also like to say that as of right now, Kingfish’s permits are still in good standing with the town. We are not considering anything new except for trying to give the time to build.”
The proposed amendments would also allow an applicant to request that the Planning Board approve a revision to an existing permit without undergoing a full review.
Billy Milliken, a former Jonesport Selectboard member who frequently moderates local meetings, chaired the hearing. Milliken works in real estate and brokered the original land sale at 9 Dun Garvin Road to Kingfish and vocally supports the project.
Milliken first suggested that the Planning Board read aloud the proposed changes to the Land Use and Development Ordinance because enough copies were not available for the 20 or so attendees.
Changes to the definition of “substantial start” drew the first questions from the audience. Instead of requiring 30 percent project completion, the Planning Board wants Kingfish to be able to show “tangible evidence, work performed is significant, actions taken go beyond the preliminary steps.”
Lynn Alley, who chairs the board of the Downeast Institute, asked whether the money already spent by Kingfish, including the purchase of the land, would be considered a substantial start.
“If that was coming out of my wallet, I’d consider that pretty substantial,” she said.
Smith replied that for Shoreland ordinances, it is not enough, noting that the Maine Department of Environmental Protection sets a different standard.
“The DEP considers a third of the money of the entire amount of the project to be substantial,” Smith said. “There has to be construction going on.”
He explained that the state criteria require tangible evidence of physical work on the site — work significant enough to show an intended capacity to complete the project and actions that go beyond preliminary steps.
“So just spending the money to get the approvals and go through the court battles and all that is not enough,” Smith said. “We need to see the work is happening. And we don’t … even know that the DEP will approve that. We are hoping so.”
Alley asked if Kingfish is comfortable with the 30 months.
Adrian Kendall, Kingfish’s lawyer for many of the court challenges, replied: “We actually were advocating for a period of five years, which is consistent with the substantial start under your subdivision ordinance and subdivision start. Just to give you an idea of context, this is not an overreach.”
Smith said the Planning Board did not fully back a five-year extension.
Mario Castorino, a retired contractor from Connecticut, asked whether Jonesport will be able to supervise the project’s construction.
“Does the town have the resources for electrical inspectors, plumbing inspectors, everything, building inspectors, to cover this 22-acre project?” he asked. “Do we have those resources, or is that down the road?”
Milliken replied that because the town has fewer than 5,000 residents, it does not have those inspectors in place.
“There are two permits here,” he said. “There’s a local permit and there is a state permit. The state does have those inspectors. They’ll be doing their checks on the things that we don’t cover.”
Kelton Beal, a local lobsterman, said he is concerned the state has made exceptions for Kingfish.
“If you’re counting on them to shut things down if things go awry, and there’s about four really big risk factors, the state’s not gonna do that,” Beal said. “They’re invested in it. If things go wrong, we don’t have any fallback.”
Beal suggested the company should adjust its approach by building a smaller initial footprint.
“If they started small and scaled up, they’d have to go through the process all over again to build a bigger one,” Frank Smith replied. “And plus, it’s not like connecting LEGO blocks. You can’t start with a tank this big and make it four times that size just like that.”
“I get that,” Beal said. “I do. But this is one of the largest ones on the continent and aquaculture hasn’t got such a good track record. We’re putting the biggest one ever right here. Chandler Bay is immaculate, but the government has dismissed it.”
Tom Sorby, operations manager for Kingfish Maine, briefly explained how the farm will manage its stock over time.
“When it comes to starting up a farm, no matter the size, you have to start gradually,” Sorby said. “We will gradually input fish into the systems. Those fish will grow, that discharge will grow, and through that entire period, we’ll be monitoring that. So we’d know very quickly if there was an issue before we got to full maximum production.”
Alley asked when the 30-month period would begin.
Milliken said the town of Jonesport must first approve the ordinance changes, followed by DEP approval. The DEP approval date will trigger the clock.
“And the changes are,” Smith added, “even if it passes the town and goes to DEP, we may get an approval back. It may not be exactly what was asked for, but it will start the clock. There is no guarantee that we’ll even get the 30 months.”
The town must vote to accept the proposed changes before the DEP decides on them.
The Selectboard is expected to set the date for the town vote at its next meeting, scheduled for 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 15.
Harry Fish, chair of the Selectboard, said legal posting requirements for special town meetings will likely push the vote to late July or early August.
Correction: This story was updated July 17 to correct that town permits allowed this project only 12 months to demonstrate a substantial start; the correct time is 24 months.
