BNAS & Its Superfund Legacy

With Dr. David Page and Suzanne Johnson, Esq.
of the Brunswick Area Citizens for a Safe Environment (BACSE).

Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at 7:00 pm
Register for Zoom Presentation

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Friends of Merrymeeting Bay’s (FOMB) seventh presentation of their 28th annual Winter Speaker Series, BNAS & its Superfund Legacy features Dr. David Page and Suzanne Johnson, Esq. of the Brunswick Area Citizens for a Safe Environment (BACSE). Winter Speaker Series presentations are held via Zoom and accessible via hyperlink at the top of the FOMB web page: www.fomb.org. This event takes place Wednesday, April 9th at 7 pm.

Dr. David Page

Brunswick Area Citizens for a Safe Environment (BACSE) has effectively represented the local community during the over 30-year process of on-going remediation and redevelopment of the former Naval Air Station in Brunswick, Maine. The recent spill of PFAS-laden aqueous fire-fighting foam (sixth largest AFFF spill in the country) from Hangar 4 and leakage from Hangar 6 represent the tip of the toxic iceberg BNAS has to offer. BACSE has kept the public informed on the progress of the proposed remediation at the former base and has been an advocate for visible and effective institutional controls since the early days of site closure.

The organization has operated continuously for over 34 years with thepurpose of keeping the public informed on the status of the CERCLA (Superfund) investigations and remediation at the former BNAS.  BACSE provides community input to the U.S. Navy, to the U.S. EPA and Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on CERCLA-related investigations, reports and proposed remedial actions at the former military base.  BACSE is a volunteer, non-profit environmental organization and funded, in part, by a Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) from the United Sates Environmental Protection Agency.

Suzanne Johnson, Esq

Suzanne Johnson is President of BACSE. She is also citizen Co-Chair of the NASB (or BNAS) Restoration Advisory Board or RAB. Suzanne is a versatile lawyer and sole practitioner at her own firm, Johnson Legal, LLC. She has a sophisticated knowledge in several areas of law including estate planning and probate administration and also federal workers compensation (longshore) with particular emphasis on workers exposed to asbestos at the workplace.  Suzanne earned her undergraduate degree with honors from Duke University and her JD from Vanderbilt. She has been recognized as one of the National Trial Lawyers?Top 100 Trial Lawyers as well one of the Nation’s Top 100 Injured Workers’ Attorneys by the?Worker’s Injury Liability Group?(WILG). Suzanne has served as President of the Lincoln County Bar Association as well as the President of and legal counsel for many years, to the Damariscotta River Association and the Medomak River Land Trust furthering their charitable conservation work.

David Page is professor emeritus of chemistry and biochemistry at Bowdoin College and has authored and co-authored more than 130 professional publications, most dealing with various aspects of the fate and effects of petroleum and other pollutants on marine environments. David is Secretary of BACSE and sits on the RAB. He has conducted interdisciplinary studies with Dr. Edward Gilfillan on the fate and effects of oil spills on natural communities of animals and plants including ways in which to measure sublethal pollutant stress on plants and animals. Because oil spills occur in real-world environments, the presence of other natural and human factors have resulted in studies on the fate and effects of additional pollutants such as heavy metals and alkyltins. Major oil spills studied include those from the Amoco Cadiz, Exxon Valdez, and many other large and smaller spills where he has also testified as an expert in state and federal courts on environmental damage claims. Dr. Page has had extensive experience fingerprinting petroleum samples from over 75 mystery oil spills. David holds a BS in Chemistry from Brown University and PhD in Physical Chemistry from Purdue University. Last but certainly not least, David is a very helpful member of FOMB.

FOMB hosts their Winter Speaker Series October-May, on the second Wednesday of each month. Due to the Covid 19 pandemic and ability for participants to attend from out of the area, the series continues via Zoom. The FOMB May 14th presentation: Gulf of Maine Coastal Program-Past & Future! features Chris Meaney, Director of the US Fish & Wildlife Service GOMCP. This event takes place at 7:00 pm with the Zoom registration link available at www.fomb.org a week or so prior to the presentation.

Speaker Series presentations are free, open to the public. Visit www.fomb.org to see speaker biographies, full event schedules, video recordings of past presentations, become a member, and learn more about how you can help protect beautiful Merrymeeting Bay and the Gulf of Maine.

For more information contact FOMB at 207-666-3372 or edfomb@comcast.net.

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