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Residents and experts urge Stonington to weigh aquaculture moratorium; board tables request for legal review
Summary
A group calling itself Protect Maine asked Stonington to consider a moratorium on aquaculture leases. Testimony included industry and former agency voices; Representative Genevieve McDonald said state process provides safeguards. The Selectmen tabled the request and sent materials to MMA legal and the town attorney for review.
Residents and activists who identified with "Protect Maine" asked Stonington Selectmen to consider a temporary moratorium on new aquaculture leases while the town, and potentially the region, reviews lease impacts and municipal authority over submerged lands.
Mark Gallagher presented the moratorium request and described legal analyses some communities have used. Jon Lewis, a former aquaculture department head, warned about the volume of lease applications, while Rep. Genevieve McDonald and Abby Barrows emphasized that the state application process includes notice and public input and corrected some technical points cited by proponents. Selectmen and TM Billings discussed jurisdictional limits and the need for legal guidance before any ordinance or moratorium could be pursued.
Town staff said the Protect Maine materials were forwarded to MMA legal and the town attorney. The board tabled further action on the moratorium pending legal review and additional information about what local regulations are allowed under state law.
The meeting record shows debate on both sides about how much local control towns possess versus state regulatory authority; no ordinance or moratorium was enacted during the recorded meetings.
