PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 13, 2025
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has completed a required comprehensive site cleanup review, known as a “five-year review,” for the Saco Tannery Superfund site. The review concluded that the remedy at the Saco Tannery Waste Pits continues to effectively protect peoples’ health and the environment and made recommendations for follow up actions where needed, according to the EPA. The 212-acre Saco Tannery Waste Pits, located on Flag Pond Road, was owned by the Saco Tannery Corporation and operated from 1959 until 1981, when the company filed for bankruptcy and stopped operations. The Waste Pits site, located about four miles north of the tannery, was used as a disposal area for process wastes such as chromium sludges, acid wastes, methylene chloride and caustic substances, according to the EPA. It is estimated that more than 23 million gallons of wastes were deposited in two lagoons and 53 disposal pits.