Why It Matters
Maine’s environmental regulator is pursuing enforcement action against a major pharmaceutical company over years of inaction on one of the state’s most contaminated industrial sites. The lawsuit seeks to force cleanup of mercury pollution at a former chemical manufacturing facility adjacent to the Penobscot River, a waterway that supports fisheries and recreation across central Maine.
What Happened
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection filed suit against Mallinckrodt US LLC in Penobscot Superior Court on Tuesday, alleging the company halted meaningful remediation work at the Orrington site despite repeated state orders and violation notices. The facility operated as a chloralkali manufacturing plant from 1967 through 2000, producing caustic soda, chlorine bleach, and pesticides under the former owner HoltraChem.
The DEP accuses Mallinckrodt of stopping cleanup efforts after the company acquired the contaminated property. State regulators have been pursuing remediation since the mid-1980s, working initially with the EPA. The agency issued a unilateral cleanup order in 2008, which Mallinckrodt contested through appeals to the Board of Environmental Protection and state courts. The Maine Supreme Court upheld the DEP order in 2014, establishing the company’s legal obligation to proceed.
Despite that court decision, the DEP issued violation notices in May 2025 and October 2025, citing the company’s failure to comply with cleanup directives. The state is now seeking civil penalties and a court order requiring Mallinckrodt to meet all departmental requirements and submit a detailed site removal plan.
By the Numbers
$187 million — settlement Mallinckrodt agreed to pay in 2022 federal litigation over mercury pollution in the Penobscot River
1967–2000 — years the facility operated as a chemical manufacturing plant
2008 — year the DEP issued its first unilateral cleanup order
2014 — year Maine’s highest court upheld the DEP cleanup mandate
Prior Legal History
The Orrington site has been the subject of environmental enforcement for decades. Maine People’s Alliance sued Mallinckrodt in federal court in 2000 over contamination stemming from the facility’s operations. That case was settled in 2022 with Mallinckrodt’s $187 million payment to address mercury pollution in the river. State and federal regulators began cleanup discussions with the company in 2002, but disputes over remediation standards and company compliance led to years of litigation.
Zoom Out
Industrial contamination cases involving litigation over cleanup timelines are common across the Northeast, where legacy manufacturing sites frequently sit abandoned or partially remediated for years after closure. Companies often challenge environmental orders through the court system, and settlements sometimes result in monetary payments rather than actual site restoration. Maine’s situation reflects a national pattern in which regulators struggle to enforce compliance with cleanup mandates when companies dispute the scope or cost of remediation work.
Jesse Graham, co-director of Maine People’s Alliance, told the Maine Morning Star that the advocacy group “have for a long time been calling for the thorough cleanup of that site, and we have definitely been disappointed that Mallinckrodt has not cleaned it up to the standards that the Maine DEP has set.”
What’s Next
The lawsuit will proceed through Penobscot Superior Court. The DEP is seeking not only civil penalties but also a judicial order compelling Mallinckrodt to submit a complete site removal and remediation plan. If successful, the case could force the company to accelerate cleanup work at a site that remains one of Maine’s most severely contaminated properties.