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Local Environmental Groups Issue Joint Statement on Nordic Aquafarms Project Following Planning Commission Approval

Last week, the Humboldt County Planning Commission unanimously voted to certify the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and issue a coastal development permit to Nordic Aquafarms California, LLC, a subsidiary of Norway-based Nordic Aquafarms, which intends to build a 766,530-square-foot recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility on the Samoa Peninsula.

After the decision, we reached out to a number of leaders of local environmental organizations who have criticized the project to ask for their responses. To a person, they deferred commenting until after meeting yesterday morning to discuss the matter. Yesterday evening they emailed a joint media statement, which we’ve published below.

After Two Hours of Public Comments, Planning Commission Continues Its Hearing on Nordic Aquafarms to Aug. 4

The Humboldt County Planning Commission last night heard a series of informational reports followed by nearly two hours’ worth of public comment, which didn’t leave the deliberative body any time to deliberate and vote on the $650 million land-based fish farm that’s been proposed for the Samoa Peninsula. Thus, the hearing to consider certifying the project’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and the approving two key permits was continued to next week’s meeting on Thursday, Aug. 4.

Near Catastrophe: Fuel Barge Carrying 1.7 Million Gallons of Diesel Collided With the South Jetty Last Month, Damaging Its Hull; Coast Guard Investigating

In an accident that threatened the fragile ecosystem of Humboldt Bay, a fuel barge loaded with 1.68 million gallons of diesel collided with the South Jetty last month, damaging but not puncturing the vessel’s outer steel hull.

The United States Coast Guard has opened an investigation into the June 20 incident, and Petty Officer Andrew Kistner confirmed that it did not result in a fuel spill.

Leroy Zerlang, chair of the Humboldt Harbor Safety Committee, said that was a huge relief.

“There was no spill, no loss of product — that was the important thing,” he told the Outpost in a phone interview earlier today. Zerlang used blunt language to convey the stakes of such an accident: “If something happened, this bay would have been fucked.”

Jennifer Kalt, executive director of environmental nonprofit Humboldt Baykeeper, agreed.

“Fortunately, the barges have double hulls, but this is another reason to get off of fossil fuels as soon as we can — along with the planet being on fire,” Kalt said. “It’s a huge risk to Humboldt Bay.”

Recalling the 5,000-gallon oil spill that temporarily closed Humboldt Bay in 1997, Kalt added that it’s important for the community to have a good understanding of the plans in place for cleaning up a spill, should one occur.

Coastal Commission Restricts the Number and Brightness of Digital Signs Allowed in Eureka

A pair of rulings from last week’s meeting of the California Coastal Commission will reduce the number of illuminated digital signs allowed in Eureka’s coastal zone while also limiting how bright they can be.

Once the new rules are adopted by the city, which is scheduled to happen this fall, Eureka businesses that still want to erect digital billboards in the coastal zone will have to submit their plans to the city’s design review committee for approval at a public hearing.

Coastal commissioners, including Humboldt County Supervisor Mike Wilson, said these new restrictions will help to limit encroaching light pollution, and they urged city officials to go even farther to slow the spread of these bright, frequently animated digital advertisements.

During the public comment period, Humboldt Baykeeper Executive Director Jennifer Kalt urged the commission to prohibit these signs throughout Eureka’s coastal zone “to protect wildlife from night glare and protect public safety from distracted drivers on a very dangerous stretch of highway.”
She noted that digital signs, which contain thousands of LED lights, can be up to 10 times brighter than standard illuminated signs, contributing to light pollution and potentially affecting nocturnal wildlife’s eating, foraging and orientation behaviors.

Kalt urged the commission to follow the guidelines of the International Dark-Sky Association, which works to reduce light pollution and offers program guidelines for local governments.

Top Executives at Nordic Aquafarms’ U.S. Operations Mysteriously Part Ways With the Company

Nordic Aquafarms founder and president Erik Heim and his wife, Executive Vice President/Commercial Director Marianne Naess, have unexpectedly parted ways with the Norway-based company.

Heim and Naess have been the faces of Nordic’s Humboldt County project since it was first announced, nearly three and a half years ago.

Reached for comment over the holiday weekend, Naess emailed a statement to the Outpost, saying, “There is never a perfect time to leave a company, but this was the right time for Erik and me.”'

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