Waterford — Residents, businesspeople and town officials in a host of Waterford and East Lyme boards and commissions remain embroiled in debate on whether to open the door to commercial shellfishing in the Niantic River.

In 2016 the Waterford-East Lyme Shellfish Commission approved a lease letting Tim Londregan of Niantic Bay Shellfish Farm use part of the river, distinct from six designated shellfish areas, as a hatchery.

But the commission later pulled the 2016 deal, which was never fully vetted by town officials or in a public hearing, after residents, attorneys and business owners voiced opposition. The commission has four members from each town.

Fears that commercial activity and fishing gear in the river could impact boaters, tourism to Mago Point and Niantic and the overall aesthetic of the river continue to rile critics. Some opponents recently created a website, RescueOurRiver.org, using photo illustrations showing "the potential impact that 12,000 pieces of equipment could have" versus shots of a "pristine river as it appears today."

Londregan responded on his business website, highlighting inaccuracies in the "illustration only" images, describing the group's claims as relying on outdated proposals and "misleading at best." The images, Londregan said, showed surface gear at low resolutions giving the impression the units were two to three times their actual dimensions. The images showed gear only a few feet from the shoreline when in fact it would be hundreds of feet farther out, allowing Millstone Environmental Lab trawls to monitor the river "as they have for decades," argued Londregan, who has helped run a Stonington shellfish hatchery and a shellfish farm in Niantic Bay for more than two years.

Earlier this month, the Waterford Board of Selectmen voted unanimously against a policy change proposed by WELSCO that would have paved the way for a new application from Londregan or other businesses.

WELSCO had proposed new procedures allowing the commission to establish lease agreements for shellfishing projects that would last up to two years, limited to up to 10 total acres. Any applicant must meet federal, state and local regulations and harbor commission requirements in the towns, and projects would be subject to a public hearing.

Londregan, who said he would submit a new proposal based on the new policy if it's eventually approved, recently argued in favor of the proposed policy change, noting the 10-acre cap would allow some aquaculture growth but residents wouldn't "need to worry about someone being super successful and taking up 300 acres. One percent for a commission that has 1,000 acres is pretty low."

But Waterford First Selectman Dan Steward said while "commercial fishing in the river is something that may have been there in the past ... it certainly doesn't fit with today's environment."

Jane Adams, chair of Waterford's Harbor Management Commission, which meets Thursday, Nov. 1, at Town Hall, argued in a Sept. 21 letter to WELSCO that the proposed policy changes are inconsistent with the town's harbor management plan. Adams said the moves would "license structures that limit existing public access and use" and would permit Type II commercial aquaculture — which requires gear structure Adams argued would "destroy the pleasant ambiance of Waterford's shoreline while failing to ensure that the natural environment is not degraded."

The Board of Selectmen vote came after Town Attorney Rob Avena argued WELSCO's existing policy lacked adequate details for applicants who required gear. Avena described WELSCO as having practical and biological reasons for the proposed policy, including that to meet WELSCO's charge of protecting shellfish in the river, it made sense to "get large numbers of shellfish introduced into the river ... they will produce enough flow to reduce nitrogen load in the river."

Avena also argued, however, that in Waterford, WELSCO could not lease to businesses like Londregan's without final approval from Waterford's Board of Selectmen and Representative Town Meeting.

Londregan disputes that finding, arguing WELSCO does have authority to lease because there is "no town ordinance for WELSCO, just the state statute" establishing the commission. Whether it is worth the time and money to challenge Waterford on that point in court remains to be seen, Londregan says.

The East Lyme Harbor Management/Shellfish Commission, meanwhile, recently agreed to form a subcommittee to discuss WELSCO's policy proposals and their potential impact for East Lyme.

The subcommittee, which includes officials from both towns, will work to identify "the best use of resources in the river," including whether aquaculture requiring surface gear "is an acceptable or practical use in the river," according to East Lyme Harbor Management/Shellfish Commission Chair Stephen Dinsmore.

"We want to work with the East Lyme Harbor Management/Shellfish Commission and other stakeholders," WELSCO Chair Peter Harris said recently, adding that he did not have a timeframe for any policy changes to finalize. "We've grown patient."

A message left with Harris on Friday was not immediately returned.

Harris recently met with East Lyme First Selectman Mark Nickerson, who is reviewing the proposed policy changes with Town Attorney Ed O'Connell. A message left with O'Connell was not immediately responded to.

"This is an ongoing issue and is still unfolding," Nickerson said Friday. "The Welsco commission is doing an excellent job weeding through the intricate and delicate details of being an agency charted by the state but dealing with local issues. I have confidence in an outcome that will properly balance everyone's wishes."

Londregan said Friday that East Lyme officials were "reviewing statutes to see whether or not they can or can't lease" to commercial entities through WELSCO.

He says that state and local permitting processes, potential public hearings, reviews by the state Bureau of Aquaculture and several other agencies, including the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, could take several months if not years.

All aquaculture projects, he notes, undergo a boater safety review by DEEP. Londregan says his project would not limit public access but might restrict certain public uses, "just as docks, moorings, crab pots, and fishing from shore restricts other uses, so does aquaculture."

For now, he's sticking to his original goal, which he says has been a successful economic draw in places like Wellfleet and Duxbury, Mass.

"I'm looking to grow seed to help bolster Connecticut's aquaculture industry," he said. "We're so far behind other states, importing 90 percent of our seafood in the U.S. when we can grow it here."

b.kail@theday.com