Excerpt and photo from Portland Press Herald. Read the full story here.
By Megan Gray, October 1, 2021.
A federal judge began hearings Friday that could resolve a decades-long legal battle and begin one of the costliest environmental remediation projects in Maine history.
In 2000, Maine People’s Alliance and the Natural Resources Defense Council sued Mallinckrodt US LLC over mercury contamination in the Penobscot River from the former HoltraChem site in Orrington. The company owned the chemical plant between 1967 and 1982.
After two trials and multiple scientific studies, the parties finally reached a settlement agreement earlier this year.
Under the proposal, Mallinckrodt would pay $187 million for primary remediation measures and long-term monitoring of the river, plus an additional $80 million in contingency funds. U.S. District Judge John Woodcock will hear three days of testimony and public comment in Bangor before he decides whether to approve the agreement.
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The parties selected Greenfield Environmental Trust Group to head the remediation project. They said the work will focus on areas where remedies can have a material impact, including Orrington Reach, Mobile Sediment Pool and the Orland River. They also established a website with more details about the plan at penobscotrivermediation.com.