BEP issues final HoltraChem ruling
In its final ruling on the cleanup of the old HoltraChem site in Orrington, the Maine Board of Environmental Protection has ordered the former owner to remove two landfills but allowed three others to remain.
The ruling, issued yesterday, mirrors the draft plan the BEP released earlier in the month as a compromise to stricter cleanup efforts recommended by the Department of Environmental Protection. In 2008, the DEP ordered former owner Mallinckrodt to spend $250 million to clean up the former chemical processing plant site, a ruling the company appealed. The BEP's decision allows three landfills on site to remain as long as systems for pollution prevention and detection are upgraded, according to the Bangor Daily News. BEP's plan to remediate the 235-acre, town-owned site is estimated to cost between $100 million and $200 million.
However, Mallinckrodt officials told the paper the company would likely appeal parts of BEP's order. The company has consistently pushed for removal of only one landfill, and argues that removal of the second is unnecessary and would release harmful emissions. Mallinckrodt, which operated the plant from 1967 to 1982, has spent $40 million in cleanup efforts so far and announced yesterday it would invest another $100 million into the effort and begin work to remove the first landfill. "We are ready to move ahead where there is agreement," company spokeswoman JoAnna Schooler told the paper.
Go to the article from the Bangor Daily News >>
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments