Seeking Transparency: Sale of the BWD's Waterfront Parcel

This spring, Attorney Ervin Tucker filed a petition with the Maine Public Utility Commission (MPUC) on behalf of Friends of Harriet L. Hartley, Jeffrey Mabee, Judith Grace, and Martha M. Block. The petition urged the MPUC to vacate its approval of the sale of the Belfast Water District's (BWD) water resource land to Nordic Aquafarms due to violations in the terms of the sale as originally approved by the MPUC. As drafted by Nordic's counsel, the deed is contrary to public interest.

The sale of the Waterfront Parcel was made with the promise of preserving public access to the walking trail. However, Nordic’s lawyers made last-minute changes to the deed terms on the day it was executed (3/1/2022). As a result, the City took ownership of the Waterfront Parcel subject to Nordic's easement, granting Nordic full use and development rights over the land. The deed expressly states that Nordic may clear-cut vegetation, dredge, fill, and construct industrial infrastructure anywhere within the Waterfront Parcel. The easement also requires future owners to uphold these terms and allows Nordic the power to exclude anyone from the Waterfront Parcel.

To our knowledge, neither the BWD Board, the Belfast City Council, nor the MPUC saw or approved these easement terms prior to the official execution of the BWD-to-Nordic deed.

Additionally, the Belfast City Council used $100,000 in taxpayer funds to acquire the Waterfront Parcel from the BWD. In contrast to the BWD-to-Nordic deed, the BWD-to-City deed limits the use of the Waterfront Parcel to conservation and passive recreation. This discrepancy effectively conceals the development rights granted to Nordic, also rendering the protective language in the BWD-to-City deed ineffective. Meanwhile, Nordic pays no taxes on the land it has full rights to develop.

Now, City Attorney Collins and City Manager Herbig have signed a joint defense agreement with Nordic and the BWD. We challenge their authority to do so without a public vote by the Belfast City Council.

We urge the Belfast City Council to reassess and exit their agreements with Nordic and the Belfast Water District to protect our community's interests and ensure the preservation of these lands. Doing so would begin the process of rebuilding the citizens' trust in the council. We ask that the BCC vote on whether the City has a common interest with Friends of Harriet L. Hartley, Jeffrey Mabee, Judith Grace, and Martha M. Block in vacating the easement granted by the BWD that grants all use and development rights in the Waterfront Parcel to Nordic

See below: Andrew Stevenson's comments at the July 2nd City Council meeting, asking for answers.