ORRINGTON – An independent study of mercury levels in the Penobscot River and Penobscot Bay south of the former HoltraChem plant will soon be under way if U.S. District Court Judge Eugene Carter has anything to say about it.

The Maine People’s Alliance and the Natural Resources Defense Council Inc. filed a lawsuit two years ago against Mallinckrodt Inc., the only owner of the former chemical plant still in existence.

Their suit claimed that state and federal regulatory agencies were not doing enough to address mercury pollution problems in the Penobscot River below the plant. In July, Carter agreed and ordered a mercury contamination study be conducted.

The plan was for members of the alliance and council to work with company officials from Mallinckrodt on a strategy to test for mercury contamination between Orrington and Verona Island and, if necessary, develop a cleanup plan for the area.

However, the individual groups were unable to agree and in August submitted two very different plans to the judge.

On Tuesday, Carter outlined exactly how the study would be designed. He created a panel to draft the study.

“On or before Jan. 12, 2004, the plaintiffs and the defendants shall each nominate to the court one member of a three-member panel, the study panel, to advise the court in connection with the design and implementation of the independent study,” Carter’s decision states.

These nominees cannot have been “retained, consulted or employed in any respect” by any of the parties involved.

“The said nominees, after approval by the court, shall nominate to the court a consultant to assist in performing the study and a third member of the study panel, who shall serve as the chairperson and presiding officer of the study panel,” the decision states.

In the event that the appointed study panel members cannot come to a consensus on who the chairperson should be, the court shall have the job of appointing the person.

Tuesday’s decision also outlined six questions the study panel should answer. These include what physical, chemical and biological processes are at work that affect or govern the distribution and fate of mercury and methyl mercury in soil sediments. The study has been asked to look at effects of mercury on aquatic organisms and food webs in the river and if the mercury levels are adversely affecting the organisms or if there is an unacceptable risk to human life.

“We’re pleased with Judge Carter’s order,” said MPA co-director John Dieffenbacher-Krall. “We’re pleased that questions about what’s been happening in our Penobscot River will be answered after 30-plus years of contamination.”

The panel also will investigate if a remediation program is necessary and feasible. If remediation is deemed necessary, the panel will determine the elements and timetable for the cleanup.

The decision states the newly formed study panel will submit a plan to the court by May 4, 2004.