Maine People's Alliance - Mallinckrodt Appeal to Supreme Court Press Release

Contact: Adam Goode, MPA Environmental Organizer, (207) 990-0672

Mallinckrodt Inc., Seeks Supreme Court Review of First Circuit Holtrachem Ruling

Company challenges order to fund the cost of an independent study of mercury effects in the Penobscot River

BANGOR—Mallinckrodt Inc., the past owner of the Holtrachem chemical plant located on the banks of the Penobscot River in Orrington, has sought Supreme Court review of last December’s First Circuit Court of Appeals ruling requiring the company to fund a comprehensive study of mercury levels in the Penobscot River.

Mallinckrodt is arguing that the circuit court’s decision improperly broadens judicial power and the role of private citizens to enforce federal environmental laws, giving private citizens an enforcement authority equal to that of the executive branch. Unless corrected, Mallinckrodt maintains, the First Circuit’s decision will allow citizens to second-guess EPA’s policy and enforcement choices, intruding upon the autonomy of the executive branch and injuring the Nation’s economy.

Nancy Marks, a litigator for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), counters, "The First Circuit has joined its sister circuits in recognizing that Congress has given federal courts expansive powers to abate risks from hazardous wastes when government agencies fail to take action sufficient to protect human health and the environment. This is precisely the way the law was intended to work.”

Maine People’s Alliance (MPA) environmental organizer Adam Goode adds, “This is another case of a corporation making big profits off of a blatant disregard for the health and safety of our local community. Despite Mallinckrodt’s appeals, which have been going on for more than 4 years now, active and persistent citizens have prevailed and we are looking forward to the truth about what the tons of mercury are doing to this ecosystem.”

In July of 2002, MPA and NRDC won a stunning victory when U.S. District Judge Gene Carter ordered Mallinckrodt Inc. to fund the cost of an independent study to determine the extent of the existing harm to the river, the need for a remediation plan, and the process for completing such a remediation plan, if any. In August 2005, Mallinckrodt Inc. appealed that ruling. In a December 22, 2006 decision, a First Circuit Court of Appeals panel of three judges affirmed every aspect of the 2002 district court ruling.

“The Supreme Court doesn’t usually take cases unless there’s been a split among lower courts, and that gives us reason to be optimistic,” said Jesse Graham, MPA executive director. “We have consistently won decisions in this case. Lower courts have continued to side with the active and persistent citizens that brought this suit forward. We look forward to finding out the truth about what the tons of mercury are doing to this ecosystem,” Graham added.

Since 1988, The Maine People's Alliance has worked to ensure that the Holtrachem cleanup process move forward, with the aim of preventing significant harm to human health and the environment. In 1999, MPA and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) commissioned Dr. Robert Livingston, an aquatic ecologist, to collect sediment and mussel samples from the Penobscot River. The investigation revealed serious mercury contamination from Orrington all the way to upper Penobscot Bay.

In 2000, joined by NRDC, MPA successfully sued Mallinckrodt, initiating a landmark legal decision where an industrial polluter was held responsible for contaminating natural resources downstream of a plant site. Assuming the Supreme Court declines to disturb the rulings of the lower courts, MPA staff and volunteers are looking forward to a full study of the mercury effects in the Penobscot and remediation possibilities.

Ashley Zook of Bangor, an MPA volunteer and environmental strategy committee co-chair, said, “The legal victories that the Maine People’s Alliance has won that require Mallinckrodt to fund an independent study of the mercury levels in the Penobscot River and Bay are inspiring. I’m proud to be an active member of an organization that can effectively hold a corporate polluter responsible for fully funding the cleanup of their mess.”