News Releases from Region 01

EPA Begins Reviews of Five Maine Superfund Site Cleanups This Year

BOSTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will conduct comprehensive reviews of previously-completed cleanup work at five National Priorities List (NPL) Superfund sites in Maine this year. The sites, including two federal facilities that are also listed as NPL Superfund sites, will undergo a legally-required Five-Year Review to ensure that previous remediation efforts at the site continue to protect public health and the environment.

"It is a major EPA priority to make continued progress cleaning up Superfund sites across New England. Once cleanup work at all or a portion of a site is completed, EPA conducts regular periodic reviews of our previous work to ensure that it is continuing to protect human health and the environment," said EPA New England Regional Administrator Dennis Deziel.

"Maine DEP continues to work closely with EPA to ensure protection of public health and the environment. Assistance from EPA at our Superfund sites is vital to this effort, and these Five-Year Reviews are a critical component towards ensuring that the remediation strategies are working as intended," said Maine DEP Commissioner Gerald Reid.

Background

The Superfund program, a federal program established by Congress in 1980, investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country and works to facilitate activities to return them to productive use. Under the Trump Administration, the Superfund program has reemerged as a priority to fulfill EPA's core mission of protecting human health and the environment.

EPA is actively involved in Superfund studies and cleanups at 16 sites in Maine, including three federal facilities. There are many phases of the Superfund cleanup process including considering future use and redevelopment and conducting post-cleanup monitoring of sites. EPA must ensure completed remedies continue to be protective of public health and the environment. The NPL Superfund sites where EPA will begin work on Five-Year Reviews in 2020 are listed below, and the web links provide detailed information on site status and past assessment and cleanup activity. Once the Five-Year Review is complete, its findings will be posted to the website in a final report.

Five-Year Reviews of Superfund sites in Maine to be completed in 2020

Eastland Woolen Mill, Corinna, Maine www.epa.gov/superfund/eastland
Pinette's Salvage yard, Washburn, Maine www.epa.gov/superfund/pinette
Saco Municipal Landfill, Saco, Maine www.epa.gov/superfund/sacolandfill

Federal Facilities
Brunswick Naval Air Station, Brunswick, Maine www.epa.gov/superfund/brunswick
Loring Air Force Base, Limestone, Maine www.epa.gov/superfund/loring

More information on Superfund and other cleanup sites in New England: https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/cleanups/cleaning-new-england