Investing in Millinocket: EPA, Maine officials highlight former paper mill site revitalization
BOSTON (June 9, 2025) – Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) New England Regional Administrator Mark Sanborn joined Commissioner Melanie Loyzim of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Commissioner Michael Duguay of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, Millinocket Town Manager Peter Jamieson, and Our Katahdin, a local nonprofit, to learn more about the ongoing work at the former Great Northern Paper Company site in Millinocket, Maine.
"The Great Northern Paper Company was once the backbone of Millinocket's economy—powering jobs, families, and American industry. When it closed, the town lost more than just a business," said EPA New England Regional Administrator Mark Sanborn. "Now, thanks to strong federal, local, and business leadership and strategic investment, we're helping Millinocket clean up this site and get back on its feet and putting this site to work for the community again. This is about restoring American strength and manufacturing and securing a brighter future for the next generation."
The Great Northern Paper Company, historically the town of Millinocket's biggest employer, once hired many of the town's high school graduates, but it shuttered in 2008 and took with it the town's major industry. In the wake of the paper mill's closing, Millinocket sought ways to diversify its economy and use its assets of natural beauty and broadband access to attract new residents and businesses.
"Our Katahdin, the non-profit that owns the former Great Northern Paper Company, is not only honoring the site's legacy but also laying the groundwork for a more robust and sustainable future by carefully developing a multi-use and diverse business hub," said Maine Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Melanie Loyzim. "The collaboration between state and federal agencies and local leaders is opening up new opportunities for rural Maine."
"This isn't just a cleanup—it's a comeback. The Great Northern site once powered a town and a region, and now, thanks to the folks at Our Katahdin and the support of this grant, it's being positioned to do so again in new and forward-looking ways," said Maine Department of Economic Community Development Commissioner Michael Duguay. "This is about reclaiming land—and with it, economic opportunity for Millinocket and the region."
Our Katahdin has been selected to receive $4,000,000 for a Brownfields Cleanup Grant. Grant funds will be used to clean up the Great Northern Paper Company's Roll Storage and Machine Shop Buildings located at 1 Katahdin Avenue in Millinocket. The buildings are part of the 1,400-acre former Great Northern Paper Company paper mill complex, which has been vacant and unused since 2008. The buildings are contaminated with metal and inorganic contaminants. Grant funds also will be used to support community engagement activities, including preparing a Community Involvement Plan.
The Millinocket site has benefitted from direct assessment and cleanup grants from EPA's Brownfields program, and additional funding for cleanup from Brownfields revolving loan fund (RLF) grants managed by the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and other Maine partners to help make the site ready for redevelopment.
Background:
Millinocket, a town of more than 4,000 people, is in Penobscot County, Maine, just southeast of Mount Katahdin and Baxter State Park. As a gateway town to Mount Katahdin and the northern end of the Appalachian Trail, Millinocket receives most of the trail's through-hikers at the end of their journeys and hosts tourists enjoying outdoor activities throughout the year.
EPA's Brownfields Program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.7 billion in Brownfield Grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse.
More information
EPA Announces $38 Million in Brownfields Grants to Cleanup Communities Across Maine