Millinocket wins $500,000 Brownfields assessment grant; town outlines active cleanups and next steps

Millinocket officials and regional partners told residents the town’s 2023 Brownfields assessment award is being used across the community to identify contamination risks and support redevelopment. “The total budget for the project was $500,000. There’s no match required,” said Nick Sabatine, the town’s project manager and a qualified environmental professional.

The program funds phase‑1 and phase‑2 environmental work, sampling and feasibility analyses designed to help lenders and developers assess reuse options. Sabatine described the assessment process and how results feed cleanup and reuse planning: “With a phase 1, you do, kind of a desktop review of the history of the site… In the phase 2, you can either confirm those issues or dismiss that those are issues.” Documents produced for the program are submitted to EPA and Maine DEP and are public records.

Local examples discussed at the meeting included a residential property on Medway Road that was abated and demolished, work at the Emery Lee site (scheduled for tank removals), the Research and Admin buildings at the former Great Northern Paper mill, and Jim’s Dry Cleaners downtown. Peter Jamieson, who credited local outreach for the program’s rapid uptake, said the work has reduced blight and enabled new private investment. “The impact is is real…these things take a lot of time, but it’s well worth the work,” Jamieson said.

Organizers said the town could be eligible for another assessment grant this fall if a high percentage of current grant funds are spent down, and they encouraged residents to engage with the public documentation and staff.