The aerial picture to the right shows the village area of Corinna in 1999. The building complex beside the pond is the Eastland Woolen Mill. After 90 years of operation and many expansions, the mill went bankrupt and closed in 1996. By 1999, Maine DEP and US EPA studies revealed that the soil and groundwater at the site were heavily contaminated with the chlorobenzene compounds used there in the 1960's to enhance the dyeing of wool cloth. Soon after this photo was taken the demolition of the mill and Main Street began.

This picture was taken of the same area in June 2002. The mill complex, all the buildings and other businesses on Main Street and the street itself are gone. Everything was removed to allow the excavation of 75,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil. The dam that held back the mill pond is gone and the river bed was moved. A new section of road was built. There is a large hole where Main Street used to be. The light-colored concrete slab, all that is left of the mill, will now serve as a foundation for the soil decontamination site.

The excavated, contaminated soil now sits in a huge pile, covered by the black tarp seen here. The soil containment area covers about an acre and sits beside the dam at the lower end of Corundel Lake. So long as funding for the project remains intact, it will take two more years to decontaminate the soil and fill in the holes left by the excavation.