JAY — A Delaware company proposes to buy the Androscoggin paper mill and adjacent cogeneration facility from Pixelle Specialty Solutions and redevelop it for other industrial uses, according to an application filed to transfer state permits.
The former pulp and paper mill stopped making paper in March after decades of production.
JGT2 Redevelopment has filed an application with the state to have the permits/licenses issued by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to Pixelle Specialty Solutions transferred to it for stormwater, wastewater discharge, air emission and solid waste.
The company’s public notice of intent was published Aug. 25 in the Portland Press Herald, according to the application.
The truck gate at Pixelle Androscoggin Mill in Jay is padlocked March 9, a day after the paper mill ceased operations. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal file
JGT2 proposes to purchase the Androscoggin Mill and Cogeneration facility from Pixelle of Pennsylvania to redevelop for other industrial uses, according to the application.
It plans to restart the cogeneration plant to produce power to sell to the grid while redeveloping the properties associated with the former pulp and paper mill. As part of the redevelopment, JGT2 will take on the obligation of closing the landfills. Additionally, it is considering rightsizing the wastewater treatment system to match the new industrial uses for the facility.
The natural gas cogeneration facility is idled but remains operational. The only operations at the property that are active are the landfill and the wastewater treatment plant, which is used to treat leachate from the active landfill, stormwater runoff, and sanitary wastewater.
Pixelle employs six staff from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. five days per week.
The old pulp and paper mill equipment will be sold and repurposed where possible, according to the application. Unnecessary infrastructure will be demolished to prepare for new construction. The property will be divided and redeveloped into several new industrial uses.
Although contracts with the proposed new buyers have yet to be finalized, permits that are subject of this transfer request will likely require modifications based on those subsequent transactions and site uses, according to the application.
Public comments on the applications may be sent to Mark Margerum, office of the commissioner, Maine Department of Environmental Protection, State House Station 17, Augusta, ME 04333-0017. He can also be reached by email at Mark.T.Margerum@Maine.Gov.
The application and supporting documentation will be made available for review by contacting the MDEP offices in Augusta at 207-287-7688.
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