Dep Proposes Fining Sprague For Sears Island Plastic Spill

By Kate Cough of The Maine MonitorThe Maine Department of Environmental Protection has proposed fining Sprague Operating Resources $17,800 for violating the state’s pollution control law after a December 2020 spill. Two shredded plastic bales fell into the ocean at Sprague Terminal in Searsport while workers were offloading them. The company did not report the dropped bales to the DEP until a week later, after agency staff received a complaint about plastic washing onto the shores of nearby Sears Island. In an unsigned administrative consent agreement released in mid-September, the DEP proposed the fine and said Sprague had revised its operations manual as well as conducted training with management at the Searsport terminal in July.