The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it plans to review cleanup work at five Superfund sites in Maine this year, including the former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone and properties in Corinna, Washburn, Saco and Brunswick.
Each individual site will undergo a legally required five-year review to ensure that previous remediation efforts continue to protect public health and the environment. profile.
Besides Loring in Aroostook County, the agency will review cleanup efforts at the former Eastland Woolen Mill, a manufacturer and finisher of wool and blended woven fabric in Corinna that closed in 1966; Pinette’s Salvage Yard, a 12-acre auto repair and salvage facility on Gardner Creek Road in Washburn; the Saco Municipal Landfill, owned and operated by that city since 1960; and at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station.
The former military base is home to the Brunswick Landing business park, which is still dealing with the aftermath of last summer’s accidental discharge of firefighting foam containing PFAS “forever chemicals” at Brunswick Executive Airport. Brunswick Landing is also home to the TechPlace business incubator and manufacturing facility.
The federal Superfund program, established by Congress in 1980, investigates and cleans up the country’s most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites.
In total, there are 123 Superfund sites across New England, and the five in Maine due to receive check-ups this year are on the EPA’s list of “national priorities.”
