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Press Release by Maine People's Alliance and Natural Resources Defense Council

The citizen suit brought by the MPA and the NRDC would require HoltraChem and Mallinckrodt to clean up the "imminent and substantial endangerment" to the health and the environment stemming from their discharges of mercury into the Penobscot River.  Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk initially recommended denialof the defendants’ motion last November.  Judge Carter’s decision was an affirmation of the earlier Kravchuk recommendation.

“I was elated in November and I’m even more elated now that Judge Carter agreed with Magistrate Judge Kravchuk’s thoroughly reasoned recommendation.  HoltraChem and Mallinckrodt need to stop delaying and begin cleaning up possibly the worst mercury contamination in the United States,” said Richard Judd, a MPA member who lives less than ½ mile downstream of the plant.

In a recommendation to Judge Carter issued November 1, 2000, Federal Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk wrote, "In my view, this citizen suit is precisely the sort of citizen suit contemplated by Congress, one in which citizens are seeking to enforce environmental laws in circumstances that the relevant administrative agencies have overlooked or are otherwise failing to "diligently prosecute."" The Defendants had asked the Court to dismiss the Plaintiffs' lawsuit based on standing and the doctrine of primary jurisdiction.

“Federal District Court Judge Eugene Carter’s ruling recognizes the critical role citizens have in enforcing the law," declared Mitchell Bernard, senior attorney, NRDC. "We are pleased with the decision."

Mercury contamination from the plant began 33 years ago when Mallinckrodt, now a Saint Louis based chemical giant but then known as International Minerals and Chemical Corporation, opened a plant in Orrington on the Penobscot River. The plant caused mercury to enter the Penobscot River in a number of ways, including direct dumping and air and water emissions. Later, mercury began entering the River from five on-site hazardous waste landfills.  HoltraChem, which bought the plant in 1994, continued to discharge mercury into the River under a permit until the closure of the plant last September. This was the only such permit issued by the Maine DEP.

Mercury is a potent toxic chemical even in tiny amounts often measured in parts per million. When ingested, it can wreak havoc on the human nervous system, especially in children and fetuses. Mercury is  also associated with brain, lung and kidney damage in humans. Mercury affects reproduction in wildlife with known harmful effects on Maine's common loon, eagles, rainbow trout, mallard ducks and terns. The Maine Bureau of Health warns certain women and children under eight not to eat any freshwater fish caught in Maine except for one meal a month of either brook trout or landlocked salmon due to mercury's adverse health effects.

Mercury from the HoltraChem plant has become an international concern with the Indian government threatening to seize a shipment of the toxic metal when it arrives in Bombay, India.  The All-India Port and Dock Workers Federation has vowed to refuse unloading the hazardous cargo.

The Maine People's Alliance is a statewide, nonprofit, membership organization committed to citizen democracy and economic, environmental and social justice. Comprising more than 16,000 members, it was founded in 1982, and maintains offices in Bangor, Lewiston and Portland. The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has more than 400,000 members nationwide served from offices in New York, Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

CONTACT:     John Dieffenbacher-Krall, executive director, MPA (207) 990-0672; Mitchell Bernard, senior attorney, NRDC (212) 727-4469.