Superfund Success Stories: EPA Region 1

Eastland Woolen Mill Superfund Site
About the Eastland Woolen Mill Superfund Site
The 22-acre Eastland Woolen Mill Superfund site is a former textile mill that operated from 1909 to 1996 on Main Street in Corinna, Maine. Disposal practices resulted in extensive contamination of soil and groundwater beneath and in the vicinity of the former Eastland Woolen Mill, in the sediments in the East Branch of the Sebasticook River, and in numerous private drinking water wells. The State of Maine performed an emergency response action and worked with the community to establish a public water supply prior to EPA involvement at the Site. In 1999, EPA placed the site on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) and began cleanup activities at the site.Why this site is being featured
A prominent local industry, the textile mill’s eventual closure left an economic void as well as unoccupied property. Recognizing the site’s reuse potential, the Town of Corinna obtained a grant from EPA and developed a reuse plan for the site and surrounding areas. The Corinna Village Center Reuse Plan focuses on mixed-use redevelopment of downtown Corinna, and includes commercial, residential and recreational areas.

“EPA made every effort to work with the Town in the planning and implementation stages of both the cleanup and redevelopment of Corinna. The opening of the Corundel Commons housing facility is a prime example of what can be accomplished when agencies share the same goals.”

EPA, Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MEDEP), the Town of Corinna, and local stakeholders worked together to integrate the reuse plan with the site cleanup. Significant progress to date includes: construction of Corundel Commons, a 20-unit senior housing facility; relocation of the former Odd Fellows Building historic building and facilitating the adaptive reuse of this building as a restaurant and general store; relocation of Main Street to improve traffic flow; restoration of the Mill Pond to a free flowing section of the East Branch of the Sebasticook River; a recreational trail/riverwalk; a commemorative war memorial; and a community bandstand for summer concerts and events. These strategic reuses have greatly improved the community and ecological value of the former abandoned property.