The Norwegian company AquaCon has an enticing economic proposal—invest $300 million in three massive, land-based salmon farms on the Eastern Shore and employ 500 people. The company hopes to produce as much as 45,000 tons of salmon per year.
Proponents argue the project could boost the long-term economic prospects on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
While that’s important, details about how the company plans to protect the Shore’s sensitive environment and the Chesapeake Bay haven’t been as readily available. That’s concerning. We hope the company will address several important questions surrounding this project at the virtual public hearing for its wastewater permit on May 26, 2021.
At the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), we believe aquaculture has an important role to play in meeting global food needs. In the U.S., 90% of the seafood consumed is imported, most of it produced by aquaculture overseas. Increasing domestic aquaculture production can help balance this $16.8 billion seafood trade deficit, create jobs, and relieve fishing pressure on wild populations. But it cannot be done at the expense of the health of the Chesapeake Bay.
Most of the current aquaculture operators in the Chesapeake Bay area deal in oysters or clams, a process in which operators buy and raise shellfish in the Bay for sale. These efforts put more water-filtering bivalves in the water, an environmental benefit resulting in cleaner water.
However, the environmental side of finfish aquaculture, including salmon production, is more complicated. Salmon aquaculture is an industry plagued by environmental issues. Even land-based systems, like the one proposed by AquaCon, use large amounts of feed and energy to grow salmon and keep the tanks cool—the water needs to be around 45 degrees for the salmon to survive. The fish also produce significant waste, primarily from fish feces, which fouls the water and must be treated before flowing back into local rivers like the Choptank River and Marshyhope Creek.
AquaCon’s proposal calls for treating waste with an anaerobic digester, pumping wastewater to treatment plants, and using solar panels on the facilities’ roofs to generate energy to chill the water and operate equipment.
This may be better than salmon production facilities that do not use such methods, but we think the company needs to be more specific about how this will work before approvals are granted. Will the withdrawals of water used in production impact species like rockfish and the endangered Atlantic sturgeon that use these areas to spawn? What about the capacity of the treatment plants and local receiving waters to handle the contaminants generated by these facilities?
Salmon require the water to be salty. How will our public wastewater treatment systems handle the salt in the wastewater that’s piped to them? It’s unclear these facilities can meet salinity discharge limits as currently designed.
It’s also unclear if AquaCon can deliver this ambitious proposal. The company hasn’t built any other salmon farms, but is proposing to start with massive facilities in Maryland.
We have other concerns:
- AquaCon has not detailed contingency plans for what they’d do in the event of a major salmon die-off or significant storm, such as if a hurricane hit.
- What food sources would the company use to feed the salmon? Wild-caught forage fish such as menhaden, sardines, and anchovies are typically used as fish food in these types of operations. CBF is concerned about industrial-scale menhaden fishing in the Chesapeake Bay because the small fish are important for the broader food web. Using forage fish from other ecosystems may damage the food web in those areas as well.
- The proposed facilities would be among the largest structures on the Eastern Shore, with each building covering about 25 acres—the size of about six Walmarts. These facilities will produce huge amounts of stormwater runoff from their roofs and paved parking areas. The company has proposed tree buffers around the structures, which may help but are too small to do the entire job. We encourage state and local officials to scrutinize the company’s stormwater management plans to prevent flooding and water quality issues due to these buildings’ massive footprints.
- Sensitive wildlife must be protected. One facility is proposed near Marshyhope Creek in Federalsburg. The creek is among the Bay’s few remaining habitats for endangered Atlantic sturgeon. Any environmental disturbances to this creek due to runoff, wastewater, or other pollution from this operation could harm juvenile sturgeon and larvae.
We understand AquaCon’s proposed project has economic potential for the Eastern Shore and the ability to help meet global seafood demand. Those benefits, however, must be weighed against the environmental risks that such a large-scale, land-based aquaculture operation inherently poses. Complete transparency is required before – not after – local and state officials approve these facilities to proceed.
Alan Girard is the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Eastern Shore Director
Steven Mitchell says
Normally, I am in lock-step with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (whom I donate annually to) on issues that affect the Chesapeake Bay, but in this case I would have to disagree with the position by Mr. Girard and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation regarding the environmental impacts of a proposed salmon farming operation in Caroline County. Initially, my reaction was how is this any different from the many poultry farms that populate the Eastern Shore which have known environmental impacts to the Bay?
To set the record straight, AquaCon (a Norwegian company) proposes to build their aquaculture plant on 200-acre former chicken farm site on the outskirts of Federalsburg, MD. They do not plan to use water from the Chesapeake Bay, but from an existing well on the chicken farm. They plan on consuming 70K gallons of water per day, which is about 10 percent of what the existing chicken farm is permitted for. They plan to reutilize 99 percent of the water they consume and discharge the 70K gallons to the Federalsburg wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). That treatment plant currently has a daily operating capacity of 750K gallons, but is only operating at 50 percent capacity, so they would have no problem absorbing the discharge from the proposed plant.
Mr. Girard stated that he had concerns with the stormwater runoff from a facility that would be the size of five Walmarts. That’s a good point, however, there are ways to mitigate the impact to the environment. For example, some of the water from the roof runoff could be collected in tanks (as is done in many LEED-certified “green” buildings) and could augment the 70K of water that is going to be needed daily for this operation. In addition, with 200 acres available to AquaCon, there is plenty of room for stormwater retention basins that we see with many industrial sites and housing developments.
I agree there could be a concern with the discharge of water with high salt water (salinity) content from the AquaCon plant to the Federalsburg WWTP, but when it is diluted with the other wastewater from the rest of the town, this may not be an issue. Contrary to what Mr. Girard states, the WWTP does not have a limit for salinity in its current permit (Permit No. 12-DP-0595).
I believe the economic benefits of this plant far outweigh any environmental impacts it might cause. Aquacon plans to invest $300M in the first phase of this plant, with the potential for this to grow to $1B over five years. In addition to the possibility of employing up to 500 people at this plant and the money to be spent on construction of the plant itself, there will be on-going tax revenue to Caroline County.
Finally, I am also heartened to hear that the company that plans to make this investment is from Norway, which is a country truly invested in preserving the environment. As we all found out from the comedian Will Ferrell in his General Motors ad that appeared during the recent Superbowl, Norway has more electric vehicles (EVs) per capita than any other country in the world. Their electrical power is 99 percent from renewable sources – primarily hydropower. We could learn something from the Norwegians. I highly doubt that the Norwegians plan to corrupt the Chesapeake Bay and I am fully behind promoting this plant as something positive for the Eastern Shore and our country.
Jim Johnson says
Are you on AquaCon’s payroll? Sure sounds like it.
Steven Mitchell says
Haha, no I am not. I have over 25 years working in environmental compliance issues in government and private industry. I was at one time a Diplomate with the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists headquartered in Annapolis, however, I am now retired. I just wanted to set the record straight on the issues associated with this proposed salmon fishery. Not all things are as negative as the CBF would lead you to believe.
However, I have been to Norway and it is a lovely country. I highly recommend it as a tourist destination.
Joan Davenport says
Will this proposed activity require any federal or federally mandated permits? If so, will an environmental impact statement be prepared and circulated for comment?
Steven Mitchell says
Based on what I have read, the company will need to obtain the standard construction permits from Caroline County and will be a “significant industrial user” with their wastewater contribution to the Town of Federalsburg’s wastewater treatment plant. If there are impacts to wetlands, then they will need a permit. Private projects that are not supported with federal funding are not required to prepare an environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. However, I am assuming that Caroline County will have a number of public hearings on the project.
Alan Girard says
Details about the infrastructure and management proposed for each of the three facilities in our view are insufficient to conclude whether environmental standards and expectations for public health and welfare will be met. The informational meeting being held by the Maryland Department of the Environment 5:00 p.m. March 18 is a good opportunity for anyone interested to learn more, meeting details at mdewwp.page.link/PublicMeetings