The United States Supreme Court yesterday rejected a federal appeal by the former owner of the closed HoltraChem plant in Orrington, which now must move forward with a court-ordered study of mercury levels in the Penobscot River.
The Supreme Court declined to consider the appeal of Mallinckrodt Inc., upholding last year’s decision by the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston that found the company liable for mercury found downstream from the facility, according to the Bangor Daily News. In 2000, the Maine People’s Alliance and the Natural Resources Defense Council sued St. Louis-based Mallinckrodt, which owned and operated the former chlorine and chemical manufacturing facility from 1967 to 1982.
Mallinckrodt already has allocated more than $2.5 million to the river study, estimated to cost $4 million. The company also could face additional hefty cleanup costs, the paper reported.
