BOSTON (Legal Newsline) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Jan. 6 that a settlement has been reached to facilitate cleanup of the Callahan Mine Superfund Site in Brooksville, Maine.
The agreement is between the EPA, the Department of Justice, the state of Maine and the site property owner Smith Cove Preservation Trust (Smith Cove).
Smith Cove, under the settlement agreement, will permit EPA and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to use “borrow material” to help clean up the site. Borrow material comes from soil, sand, silt, clay, gravel and boulders. Using the material should help EPA and Maine DEP eliminate several thousand trips of heavy truck traffic on local roads leading to the Superfund Site.
Additional stipulations of the agreement allow EPA and Maine DEP to have access to the property to monitor the environmental response. The settlement implements institutional controls that will be used for long-term protection of the environment and of human health. Through all these stipulations, Smith Cove is able to resolve federal and state liability claims.
"Reaching this settlement is good news for the community of Brooksville," said EPA Regional Administrator Curt Spalding. "It allows the site cleanup to move forward, and promotes continued protection of public health in the area."
The Callahan Mine Superfund Site is located in Harborside Village in Brooksville, Maine.