BROWNFIELDS REDEVELOPMENT

East Millinocket’s Brownfields Assessment Program

The Town of East Millinocket has been awarded a United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) Brownfields Assessment Grant for conducting environmental assessments and cleanup planning at eligible properties in East Millinocket.

EPA defines a "Brownfields site" as any property for which the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or perceived presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Many Brownfields sites are undeveloped and/or underutilized, and can have negative effects on property values, human health, the environment, and public safety. When a site is redeveloped there is an opportunity for an increase in tax base, employment opportunities, tourism, and sustainable economic development for the site as well as the rest of the community, among others.

The Town’s Brownfield Redevelopment Program is intended to help convert brownfield properties from community liabilities into community assets by providing funding and guidance to navigate the environmental due diligence process through environmental site assessment (ESA) and cleanup planning, if needed.

Assessment of brownfield sites is sometimes considered a three-step process. These steps precede actual cleanup and redevelopment and identify potential funding sources.

Phase I Environmental Site Assessment - A research report that documents the historical use and environmental status of a property and identifies potential environmental concerns that may require subsequent investigation to confirm of dismiss these concerns. No sampling of environmental media is conducted during a Phase I ESA.

Phase II Environmental Site Assessment - Based on the findings of the Phase I ESA report, a Phase II ESA investigation confirms whether or not contamination is actually present at the site. Typically, samples of soil, paint, potential asbestos-containing material, soil gas, surface water, and groundwater are collected at the site and analyzed for suspected contaminants.

In addition to the Town of East Millinocket’s Brownfields Assessment Grant, funds for both Phase I ESAs and Phase II investigations are also available through the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the US EPA.

Cleanup Planning/Remedial Cost Estimating - If contamination is found in the samples collected during the Phase II ESA, cleanup/remediation may be required to mitigate and/or remove the contaminants of concern prior to development. The Town of East Millinocket’s Brownfields Assessment Grant can also provide funds for cleanup planning.

Cleanup & Remediation Activities - The Town of East Millinocket does not have direct cleanup funds available at this time; however, remedial cleanup funding is potentially available to eligible municipalities and non-profits through the Maine DEP / Maine Department of Community and Economic Development (DECD). Applicants interested in cleanup support may apply through the Maine DEP Municipal Brownfields Program: https://www.maine.gov/dep/spills/brownfields/index.html

Contact Information:

For more information regarding the Town of East Millinocket’s Brownfields Assessment Grant Program and/or to request assessment funding for a specific site in town, please contact:

Michael Michaud – Selectboard Member, Town of East Millinocket
selectmen1@eastmillinocket.org; (207) 746-3376

Peter Sherr – Brownfields Program Manager, TRC
psherr@trccompanies.com; (207) 838-3985

Zachary Bonin – Brownfields Project Manager, TRC
zbonin@trccompanies.com; (207) 205–2830

Brownfields Project Highlights

The Former Great Northern Paper Mill, East Millinocket:

The Great Northern Paper Mill was in operation from 1906 until 2014 and produced paper products as one of the region’s largest employers. The approximately 250-acre mill site was developed with over 60 buildings, constructed in multiple phases and facility expansions between 1906 and 1991. The mill buildings housed paper-making machines and paper mill support operations and also included smaller maintenance buildings, office buildings, warehouse buildings, train sheds, underground and aboveground bulk fuel oil, railcar loading equipment and racks, boiler operations, a wastewater treatment plant, and former wood laydown areas associated with the former paper mill operations. A former biomass (wood chip) boiler was also utilized at the mill for energy efficiency.

Under the Town’s Brownfields Assessment Grant awarded by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), the Town of East Millinocket is currently in the process of completing several supplemental environmental assessments and associated cleanup planning for several specific Study Areas at the former mill site. These assessments and studies include the completion of Phase II ESAs and subsurface investigations, hazardous building material surveys (HBMSs) of the remaining mill structures, an inventory of hazardous chemicals remaining within these mill buildings, a site boundary and elevation survey, infrastructure reuse study, and geotechnical investigations to support final cleanup for several areas of the mill site.