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June 23, 2017

Lincoln files legal objection over cleanup plans for bankrupt mill

In court documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court District of Maine, the town of Lincoln is objecting to the scope of a cleanup agreement between the bankrupt Lincoln Paper and Tissue LLC and federal and state environmental agencies.

The Bangor Daily News reported that the town filed its objection Tuesday and laid out an alternative vision for redevelopment of the shuttered mill site, expressing hope that it could be redeveloped for biomass energy production or other light manufacturing and forest product businesses. 

The town’s filing notes that a compromise motion between the mill’s owners, creditors, federal Environmental Protection Agency and Maine Department of Environmental Protection “contemplates subjecting the entire LPT site to ongoing environmental remediation for nearly two decades under a Superfund designation, rendering it unavailable for use by the town and private investment during that time.” 

The town, in its filing, identified a smaller parcel that it characterized as “significantly less contaminated than the larger mill site” that could be a potential candidate for the EPA’s Brownfield Program.

“The Brownfield Program allows for a more streamlined remediation on a much shorter timeline than under the Superfund program,” the town’s motion stated. “Additionally, the carve-out parcel would allow for access to existing utilities that would further expedite industrial redevelopment.”

BDN reported that the town’s proposal involves 90 to 100 acres and allegedly would not harm creditors of the bankrupt mill.

Read more

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