News Releases from Region 01

EPA Completes Review of the Saco Tannery Waste Pits Superfund Site in Saco, Maine

SACO, MAINE – EPA recently completed a comprehensive review of the completed cleanup work at the Saco Tannery Waste Pits Superfund Site, in Saco, by performing a required Five-Year Review. 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 endeavors to facilitate activities to return them to productive use.

"EPA performs Five-Year Review evaluations at Superfund Sites to ensure that our implemented site remedies continue to protect public health and the environment," said EPA New England Regional Administrator Dennis Deziel.

"In addition to assisting with EPA's Five-Year Reviews, the Maine DEP provides ongoing monitoring and oversight of the remedy to assure clean-up actions remain protective. The information gathered is an important part of EPA's Five-Year review. The State provides this for the Saco Tannery Waste Pits Site and other superfund Sites in Maine that have completed remedial actions as part of its responsibility as a partner with EPA for these Sites," said Maine Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Jerry Reid.

During 2019 EPA technical staff conducted a Five-Year Review of the Saco Tannery Waste Pitts Superfund Site in Saco, Maine. The final report can be found on EPA's site profile page (see: www.epa.gov/superfund/sacotannery) in in the "Site Documents and Data" section.

Background

Throughout the Superfund process of designing and constructing a cleanup remedy for a hazardous waste site, EPA's first goal is to make sure the remedy will be protective of public health and the environment. At many sites, EPA continues to ensure protectiveness by requiring reviews of completed cleanups every five years. It is important for EPA to regularly check on these sites to ensure the remedy is working properly. Five-year review evaluations identify potential issues and, if called for, recommend action(s) necessary to address them.

EPA is actively involved in Superfund studies and cleanups at 16 sites across Maine. There are many phases of the Superfund cleanup process including considering future use and redevelopment at sites and conducting post cleanup monitoring of sites. EPA must ensure the remedy is protective of public health and the environment and any redevelopment will uphold the protectiveness of the remedy into the future.

More information on EPA topics pertaining to Maine: https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/me