Document Type

Poster

At Last, Restoration of Maine's Longest River

Authors

Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions

Publication Date

2-25-2025

Abstract/ Summary

This talk will provide an overview of one of the largest environmental cleanups underway in Maine, designed to reduce exposure to mercury in the Penobscot River estuary - the state's longest river. In 2022, the U.S. District Court in Maine approved a Consent Decree that created and funded two environmental response trusts to settle the 20-year lawsuit by Maine People's Alliance and the Natural Resources Defense Council against Mallinckrodt US LLC for discharging mercury into the Penobscot River Estuary. The Penobscot Estuary Mercury Remediation Trust is charged with implementing measures to remediate mercury contamination in Estuary sediments using funds of at least $167 million and possibly up to $247 million provided by Mallinckrodt. The second trust, the Penobscot Estuary Beneficial Environmental Projects Trust, was created to fund environmental projects intended to mitigate or offset potential adverse impacts caused by mercury contamination in the Penobscot Estuary.

Repository Citation

Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, "At Last, Restoration of Maine's Longest River" (2025). General University of Maine Publications. 3749.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/univ_publications/3749

Version

publisher's version of the published document

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