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Archaeological Site Tour at Eastern Surplus Company Superfund Site in Meddybemps, Maine

Release Date: 09/15/2000
Contact Information: Alice Kaufman, EPA Community Affairs Office, (617) 918-1064

Boston- EPA New England, the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) invite citizens to tour the recently-uncovered Native American archaeological site at the Eastern Surplus Superfund Site in Meddybemps, Maine. The tour will be held on Tuesday, September 19, 2000 from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. and will allow visitors to learn about the cultural history and environmental cleanup of the Superfund site. Agency and tribal representatives will be available to answer questions.

"Meddybemps, even the word conjures up pride for the Passamaquoddy people," said Governor Richard Stevens, Passamaquoddy Tribe, Indian Township. "This is the heartland of the Tribe, and is very important to our past and our future. Eight thousand years of soil has covered this ancient village and fifty years of toxic material has also covered this site. Now we clean this site to bring back the work of our ancestors and to clean the environment. Our ancestors are happy."

"This ancient village is a link to our past and a key to our future," said Governor Richard Doyle , Passamaquoddy Tribe, Pleasant Point. "It was extremely important to the Tribe that this site be handled in a manner that respected our ancestors, protected the environment, and preserved our rich history buried under the thousands of years of soil. I am pleased with the cooperation the Tribe has received from officials from the EPA, State of Maine, and the Abbe Museum regarding the Meddybemps Site. The cooperation demonstrates the good that can be done if we talk and work together."

"EPA is pleased to co-host an event that celebrates the environmental cleanup along with the cultural importance of this site to all of us, especially the Passamaquoddy Tribe," said Mindy S. Lubber, EPA New England regional administrator. "This cleanup and archaeological dig demonstrates what can be accomplished when different groups work together to transform a Superfund site from a contaminated junkyard into a place of value to the community. The cooperation between the agency, community and tribe has been tremendous."

"For so many years our ancient village sites have been destroyed and looted which resulted in the loss of our history and our connection to the area," said Donald Soctomah, legislative representative, Passamaquoddy Tribe. "The spirits have finally heard our ancestors' cry over the destruction of our old village sites and the environmental pollution; now comes the time of healing. The Meddybemps Site is a symbol of this new healing, of people and governments working together with the Passamaquoddy Tribe, to save what is important to all of us. Let us be proud of this new found working relationship and continue to work together."

"The Maine DEP is pleased to join the EPA, the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the community of Meddybemps in celebrating the restoration of the Eastern Surplus Company Superfund site,"said Martha Kirkpatrick, commissioner of Maine DEP. "When we first visited the site in 1985, it was an eyesore, a public safety hazard and a threat to the environment. Today, the site has been restored to a place of beauty, the groundwater is being cleaned up and you can safely walk about. Many years of hard work have clearly paid off."

"As we approach the point of maximum archaeological activity on this site, we can point toward a major success story. This archaeological work will rewrite our understanding of the period around 5000 years ago in eastern Maine and provides new details on Native American life in interior eastern Maine in the last 3000 years," said Dr. Arthur Spiess, archaeologist with the Maine Historic Preservation Commission. "While the site has improved our understanding of the past as science, it has built many relationships for us in the present that will strengthen us in mind and spirit into the future."

In July 1999, workers discovered the archaeological site while excavating soils during an environmental cleanup of the former Eastern Surplus Company salvage/junk yard. The site contains numerous Native American artifacts including stone tools, flakes, drills, pottery shards, points, and scrapers typically used by early eastern woodland tribes. An initial survey conducted to characterize the site resulted in EPA and the Maine Historic Preservation Commission deeming it eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

A team of archaeologists who examined the stone tools and artifacts dated use of the site by Native Americans to approximately 7000 to 5500 years ago. Artifacts from the site are currently being collected and catalogued by archaeologists from the University of Maine, Farmington, Archaeology Research Center.

In July 2000, EPA, the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, the national Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the Passamaquoddy Tribe signed an agreement that included provisions for archaeological excavations, scientific interpretation, public viewing, and cultural interpretation of the artifacts. A separate agreement was reached to provide for custody of the artifacts by the Abbe Museum on behalf of the Passamaquoddy Tribe.

Over the last two years, the Eastern Surplus Company Superfund Site has been undergoing the second of three major cleanup actions performed by EPA. The Maine DEP in 1985 responded to complaints and inspected the site. The inspection resulted in several cleanup activities at the site. From 1986 to 1990, EPA removed hazardous materials stored at the site. At that time, EPA sampled and removed thousands of compressed gas cylinders, drums, and miscellaneous containers, which accounted for the majority of the hazardous materials stored at the site. Since then, EPA has been addressing the contamination in the site soils that is a source for groundwater and sediment contamination. EPA completed the first phase of this cleanup action in 1999, which involved excavation and off-site disposal of contaminated soils and the resurfacing of the site. Currently, EPA is installing a groundwater extraction and treatment system to remove volatile organic compounds and reduce the level of manganese to meet safe drinking water standards. EPA is finalizing the long-term cleanup plan for the site and expects to complete a final decision this fall.