ORRINGTON — The owners of a former chemical manufacturing plant in Orrington say a recent violation notice from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection is “disappointing.”

In October, Maine’s DEP issued a second violation notice to Mallinckrodt U.S. LLC/Medtronic regarding mercury and other contamination at the site that occurred between 1967 and 2000, citing a lack of meaningful progress on cleanup.

Last week, the owners told Spectrum News they been working collaboratively with Maine DEP for more than 20 years to conduct “thorough remediation.”

“It’s disappointing that the state has decided to issue an NOV, since have been a reliable partner with state agencies and the town of Orrington and have been dedicated to funding and managing cleanup at this site for more than two decades,” said Mark Robinson, a spokesperson for Mallinckrodt U.S. LLC.

Robinson told Spectrum News that Mallinckrodt has spent more than $280 million on cleanup efforts.

“The site now meets or exceeds cleanup standards used in environmental remediation projects across Maine and the U.S. Engineering reviews demonstrate the site is protective of human health and the environment,” said Robinson. 

However, the DEP alleged that there has been a lack of meaningful progress in its first notice of violation, and said in the second notice that the department disagrees with Mallinckrodt’s view.

“The department disagrees with Mallinckrodt’s assertion that contamination remaining at the site no longer poses a danger to public health and that further remediation in accordance with the department orders is unnecessary,” the Oct. 20 notice of violation from the DEP reads, in part. “The department offers technical assistance which may assist you in returning to compliance and avoiding further enforcement action.”

Robinson added that Mallinckrodt is looking ahead. 

“We look forward to finalizing the remediation work so this important asset may be returned to the Orrington community for their beneficial future use and development,” said Robinson.