Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco
Issue: Environmental and Social Justice
Program Topic: Mercury from Holtrachem site closes mouth of Penobscot to Lobster Fishing, Mallinckrodt, LLC resists cleanup; Irving instigates metallic mining law changes
Key Discussion Points:
a) This Saturday, 7 square miles of the Gulf of Maine, at the mouth of the Penobscot River, will be closed to lobster and crab fishing due to mercury contamination from the Holtrachem site in Orrington.
b) Concurrently, the liable corporation, Mallinckrodt, LLC, is appealing its cleanup responsibility before the Maine Supreme Court.
c) We also re-visit an industry move to dismantle current mining regulations in Maine. Monday, the legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee will hold a public hearing on the proposed changes, recently reformulated by the Board of Environmental Protection to allow for even less environmental protection.
Guests:
Jesse Graham, director of Maine Peoples Alliance, www.mainepeoplesalliance.org
Nick Bennett, staff scientist Natural Resources Council of Maine, www.nrcm.org
http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Penobscot-River-closed-to-lobster-crab-harvest/15790/
http://www.pressherald.com/news/Maine_Supreme_Court_to_hear_case_on_Orrington_hazardous_waste_site_cleanup_.html
http://www.pressherald.com/news/state-regulators-meet-this-week-to-decide-the-best-way-to-clean-up-mercury-at-the-former-holtrachem-plant_2010-05-02.html?pagenum=full