Lawsuit halts demolition at former Great Northern mill site
Photo / James McCarthy
Demolition of several buildings at the former Great Northern Paper mill in East Millinocket, shown last fall, halted Tuesday after a federal court in Portland issued a temporary restraining order.
A federal court in Portland granted a temporary restraining order on Tuesday that stops demolition at the former Great Northern Paper Co. Mill in East Millinocket.
The Bangor Daily News reported that the restraining order against the site’s owner, Florida-based North American Recovery Management, was sought by EMEP LLC, a group of investors based in Lincoln that hopes to build a biofuel refinery at the former GNP mill, which closed permanently in February 2013.
BDN reported that EMEP’s lawsuit alleges that North American repeatedly delayed closing on a purchase-and-sale agreement for the site, committed breach of contract by violating a letter of intent covering the purchase and jeopardized EMEP’s plans for a biofuel refinery when it began demolishing parts of the site in February.
In granting the temporary restraining order, U.S. District Court Judge Jon Levy’s ruled: “EMEP also presents credible evidence that it will suffer irreparable harm if NARM is allowed to sell the property to another party or harm the assets on the property that EMEP contracted to purchase. EMEP has invested a significant amount of money in obtaining the necessary permits and funding for carrying out its plan to repurpose the mill as a biofuel refinery. EMEP’s submissions indicate that the former Great Northern Paper Mill property is an important part of a statewide plan for the construction and operation of biofuel plants and that lost business opportunities associated with the demolition or sale of the property in violation of the asserted contract would be substantial. EMEP has therefore demonstrated a likelihood of irreparable harm.”
BDN reported that attorneys for both parties met after the hearing to confer.
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