AUGUSTA (AP) – Gov. John Baldacci expressed confidence Tuesday in an offer to purchase Eastern Pulp and Paper Corp., and said the bankrupt company’s Lincoln Pulp and Paper mill could resume operations as early as mid-May.

Baldacci said the state will participate in a hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Wednesday in Portland in support of the agreement, which could lead to the reopening of the mills in Lincoln and Brewer where 750 people lost their jobs in January.

In the latest proposed purchase deal to surface, Connecticut-based First Paper Holding Corp. LLC offers nearly $24 million to buy Eastern Pulp and its mills.

“On behalf of the state, I express the strong support of my entire administration for these efforts to restart one or both mills and put hundreds of Maine citizens back to work as soon as possible,” said Baldacci.

The governor pledged to “take every step within our power and authorized by law to assist in efforts to reopen both the Lincoln and Brewer mills.”

Union workers from the Lincoln mill Tuesday voted to accept a six-year contract necessary for First Paper to move forward with its planned purchase. Members voted 234-26 in favor of the contract, which First Paper had said a contract is crucial for the deal to go forward.

“He’s got his workforce,” said Roger Zelkan, vice president of PACE No. 1-0396. “We did our part, now it’s up to them.”

Keith Van Scotter, a First Paper partner who appeared at a news conference with the governor, said, “I’ve come away feeling better about this than when I started, and I felt good when we started.

“This is a very solid deal and one reason it’s taken so long is it’s a solid deal,” Van Scotter said.

The purchasers, who have formed Lincoln Tissue and Paper LLC, would pay $3.2 million in cash for the mills and the remainder of the $23.7 million in long-term promissory notes to lenders and creditors.

As part of the deal, it also wants a $4.5 million loan guarantee and a $1 million loan from the Finance Authority of Maine. Baldacci said applications are being completed with the state-affiliated agency and the board is to hold an emergency meeting on the request as soon as possible.

The prospective buyers are working with the state Department of Environmental Protection on a plan to mitigate their liability for risks from hazardous waste contamination stemming from the mill’s past operations. The DEP is also working with them to address hazardous chemicals left in the mills when they were abandoned.

Baldacci said the prospective buyers intend to resume paper making at the Lincoln mill as early as mid-May, but the continued operation of the Brewer mill is less certain.

Van Scotter described Lincoln’s as “a unique mill,” with the ability to make pulp, burn wood waste, produce energy and make specialty products among its assets. Some of the assets of the Brewer mill are not part of the sale.

Neither Baldacci nor Van Scotter ruled out a restart at Brewer, but they did not rule out a possible resale of the property either.

“We think we that have a viable business … with one or both mills, and we’re going to do our best to make sure that happens,” said Van Scotter.

Eastern Pulp entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2000 and in February Bankruptcy Chief Judge James Haines Jr. ordered the company placed in Chapter 7 liquidation. Wednesday’s hearing is to focus on whether to vacate Haines’ March order requiring Eastern’s mills and its Amherst, Mass., headquarters be abandoned.

AP-ES-04-20-04 2007EDT