EPA Superfund Site

KEDDY MILL

ME | EPA ID MEN000106078

About this site’s exposure pathways: As of December 2024, the Keddy Mill Superfund site is considered "Current Human Exposure Not Under Control" because individuals can come in contact with Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)-contaminated mill surfaces (e.g., wall, floors, etc.), as well as elevated concentrations of antimony, arsenic, dioxins/furans, PCBs and petroleum hydrocarbons in soil. Routine trespassing within the former mill occurs and all efforts to prevent such trespassing continue to fail. Additionally, contamination in the former mill building is being released to the environment (the adjacent Presumpscot River) given the deteriorated condition of the building, which is contributing to unacceptable fish consumption risk due to uptake via the food chain.

The Keddy Mill Superfund site was added to the National Priorities List (NPL) in May 2014. EPA initiated a Remedial Investigation (RI), to include a risk assessment, which was completed in 2023. Of concern is an abandoned and contaminated former Mill complex. In FY2018, the Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) completed an Engineering Evaluation and Cost Analysis (EE/CA) resulting in EPA's selection of a demolition alternative that was memorialized in an Action Memorandum. In April 2019, EPA issued notice letters inviting the PRP to perform the Non-time Critical Removal Action (NTCRA). An Administrative Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent (AOC) was reached with the PRP to perform additional geophysical testing and drainage assessment needed to properly and safely demolish the mill; site security measures were also included and are in the process of being implemented. Despite the attempts by the PRP to secure the mill complex property, trespassers are still able to access exterior portions of the parcel and the abandoned building. An AOC was negotiated and signed with PRPs in June 2022 to implement the NTCRA. Ahead of the mill's actual demolition, additional data needs to be collected from various media which comprise the mill (e.g., concrete, chalking, tile, other porous surfaces); this work is anticipated to be completed in 2024 with the removal design to follow in 2025. The mobilization of equipment, supplies, and personnel to begin the physical demolition of the mill building is anticipated in 2025. EPA will reevaluate if this substantial mobilization to conduct the NTCRA is a sufficient deterrent to on-site trespassing and thus if Human Exposure may change to Under Control.