Celebrating 1 0 Yea Superfund Sites to Beneficial Use REGION 1 Success Story Eastland Woolen Mill: i^orinna, I 1 Eastland Woolen Mill site prior to remediation Source: Ken Dow, Cattail Press Through close collaboration with the Town of Corinna, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and several other state agencies and stakeholder groups, EPA has supported redevelopment at the Eastland Woolen Mill site in Corinna, Maine. In 2001, EPA's Superfund Redevelopment Initiative (SRI) provided Corinna with a grant to develop a reuse plan for the site and surrounding area. The 21-acre site was the location of the former Eastland Woolen Mill, which operated as a textile mill from 1909 until 1996. Mill operations such as wool dyeing processes contaminated soils, ground water, surface water, and sediment associated with the East Branch of the Sebasticook River. The site was added to the Superfund National Priorities List in 1999. Cleanup activities included connections to municipal water lines, removal of all site infrastructure, soil excavation and treatment, and a ground water pump-and-treat system. The former mill site dominated the heart of downtown Corinna and was a sad reminder of the economic hardships brought on by the closing of the mill and the associated losses in local jobs and revenues. Citizens of Corinna were determined to take back their community and completed the Reuse Plan for Corinna Village Center in 2002. EPA made it a priority to work with stakeholders to achieve cleanup objectives in a manner that supported this future vision of the community. Today, a 20-unit senior housing facility is located on a portion of the site. Additionally, EPA, the Town of Corinna, and the State of Maine worked to relocate the historic Odd Fellows Building within the site, and it is now enjoyed as a country store and restaurant. A plan for village-style subdivision and greenspace along the river was approved in 2006, and in 2008 a public bandstand was built in the greenspace. The transformed site is a testament to the success of close partnerships and the critical role that reuse planning and planning grants can have on the revitalization of a community. Mew senior housing facility on the Eastland Woolen Mills site. Source: EPA "The 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. Our citizens will be forever grateful to the EPA staff that gave their all to put our Town and our lives together again." - Dalton MuHis, Corinna Town Manager "The Eastland Woolen Mill site is a textbook example of how the reuse planning process and cleanup can play out. The town did a great job with the reuse planning process and both the EPA case team and the state worked really closely with them to integrate the plan into the cleanup." - John Podgurski, Region 1 SRI Coordinator and Remedial Project Manager For more information, please contact Melissa Friedland at friedland.melissa@epa.gov or (703) 603-8864 or Frank Avvisation at avvisato.frank@epa.gov or (703) 603- 8949. Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation Superfund Redevelopment Initiative ------- |