BANGOR, Maine — More than $900,000 will go toward cleanup of the Penobscot River and the shoreline near Turtle Head Cove Municipal Park as a result of a consent decree filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court.
Chevron Corp., and later Cumberland Farms Inc., owned a tank farm and oil terminal that closed in 1996 but was responsible between the 1950s and the 1980s for 140,000 gallons of oil leaking into the river, according to court documents.
The terminal was located between Route 1A and the Penobscot River just over the town line from Bangor in Hampden.
A handful of state and federal agencies filed a complaint Wednesday along with the consent decree, which is standard practice. The plaintiffs alleged that natural resources had been damaged because of the oil leaks.
David Madore, spokesman for the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, which was one of the plaintiffs, said in an email that a remedy plan would not be drawn up until after U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby approves the consent decree.
“The public has 30 days to provide public comment to the court regarding the proposed consent decree,” he said. “If the court approves the consent decree, then state and federal [officials] will begin discussions regarding restoration planning.”
Madonna Smith, public affairs advisor for Chevron, said the court filing was part of a negotiated settlement.
The complaint did not specify which natural resources had been damaged but listed the damaged resources as aquatic, recreational and land and shoreline. It also said the Penobscot River “is habitat for many bird, mammal, invertebrate and fish species including the Gulf of Maine Distinct population segment of Atlantic salmon and shortnose sturgeon, both of which are listed as endangered species by federal agencies.”
In the consent decree, the defendants, which included Chevron U.S.A. Inc., Cumberland Farms Inc. and Gulf Oil Limited Partnership, did not admit any wrongdoing.
Information about the remedy plan the $900,000 would fund was not included in court documents.
In July 2011, Gov. Paul LePage announced a $900,000 civil penalty that was paid by Chevron for environmental damage at the same site, Assistant Attorney General Mary Sauer, who worked on the consent decree, said Wednesday. The consent decree addressed damage to natural resources.
The Town of Hampden received $520,000 nearly five years ago to create Turtle Head Cove Municipal Park, an 8.5-acre recreation area with walking trails and a boat launch on the waterfront, according to a previously published report. The remaining $380,000 went into the Maine Coastal and Inland Surface Oil Cleanup Fund.
Chevron operated the tank farm and marine terminal in Hampden between the 1950s and 1986, according to a July 16, 2011, story. In 1986, Cumberland Farms Inc. purchased the Gulf Oil brand assets for the Northeast, which included the terminal and tank farm.
There are no allegations in court documents that oil leaked into the river from the tank farm and marina area in the 1990s.