The city of Caribou is eagerly awaiting the response to an application it sent asking for $600,000 to clean up its waterfront.

According to the Bangor Daily News, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Clean-Up Grant could fund cleanup for Asbestos and other hazardous chemicals on the Caribou waterfront on the Aroostook River.

The 11,320 gallons of chemicals currently polluting the river came from a hydroelectric/diesel plant on Lower Lyndon Street, which was first constructed as a dam in 1889, and hasn’t been in service since around 1992. The property was bought by Jim Barresi in the 2000s, but after his death in 2019, the city took over the area due to unpaid taxes.

If the grant is approved, things such as an Atlantic Salmon hatchery, a public park, and a boat launch could be where the plants once stood. Caribou Special Projects Coordinator Karen Gorman said “This is going to be a huge boost of energy for the community… there have already been discussions on making [the diesel site] into a park. It’s a reality now that those awful looking plants and blight on this riverfront will be gone.”