"Left on its own, the Penobscot River could take 80 years or longer to diffuse the estimated 9 metric tons of mercury spilled into it from a chemical plant in Orrington between 1967 and the early 1970s, according to experts studying the river. . . . But a 2022 Maine U.S. District Court consent decree could speed up the river’s return to safe water by decades."
"What’s at stake is the health of the second-largest river in New England, the fish and animals that rely on it, and the people who use it for food and recreation."
www.bangordailynews.com
The East Branch of the Penobscot was the first river I ever paddled (in 1956). It seemed clean then. Of course, we were probably 100 miles upstream from this chemical plant. So maybe the upper reaches remain clean.
The removal of the Veazie Dam above Bangor in 2013 helped begin the river restoration projects.
"What’s at stake is the health of the second-largest river in New England, the fish and animals that rely on it, and the people who use it for food and recreation."
A historic cleanup of the Penobscot River is finally beginning
Depending on how effective it is, the Penobscot River mercury cleanup could become a model for remediating industrial pollution in other freshwater bodies across Maine.
www.bangordailynews.com
The East Branch of the Penobscot was the first river I ever paddled (in 1956). It seemed clean then. Of course, we were probably 100 miles upstream from this chemical plant. So maybe the upper reaches remain clean.
The removal of the Veazie Dam above Bangor in 2013 helped begin the river restoration projects.