Three years after they first filed an application to establish a commercial oyster farm off Seapowet Avenue, Little Compton's Patrick and Sean Bowen will finally get a hearing before the state body governing the affair in just under three weeks.

The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) is expected to hold a hearing on the plan at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 18. It will be held in the administrative building at One Capital Hill, Providence, second floor.

The brothers' plan has generated enormous controversy in the Sakonnet area. Many Tiverton residents, the town council and harbor commission, are opposed to the plan, saying it will reduce recreational opportunities for kayakers, anglers and non-commercial shellfishermen to enjoy the spot. But in Little Compton, the brothers' plan has received the support of the Little Compton Town Council.

And the plan has spurred the creation of legislation that, introduced two times over the past two years, would have restricted aquaculture operations within 1,000 feet of shore along the entirety of the Sakonnet. That legislation, sponsored by Rep. John Edwards of Tiverton, failed to make it out of committee on both occasions.

The brothers' farm would cover just under one acre just offshore, using submerged gear to grow oysters for market, and they have said that it will not be a hindrance to those who use those waters for recreation. Several years ago, the Bowens purchased a small spit of land just off the proposed site that they would use to service the operation, if it is ultimately approved.