Maine has been a leader in regulating perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances — including being the first state to pass a rule requiring manufacturers to report intentionally added PFAS in products. (Photo by Getty Images)
Adrienne Lee and her husband have been farming on their 94 acres of field and forest in the town of Knox for more than a decade. Three years ago, they found high levels of so-called forever chemicals in their land and water sources, as well as in their bodies.
“This discovery put us in a tailspin of trying to figure out if we could have a viable path forward in farming,” Lee told the Maine Legislature’s Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee Thursday morning.
While her family’s farm is still on “shaky ground,” Lee said they can see a path forward thanks to support they have received from the state’s efforts to address contaminated agricultural land.
Lee shared her family’s story during a public hearing for LD 130, a bill sponsored by Sen. Henry Ingwersen (D-York) on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. While the state already has a robust program to support farms with high levels of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, the proposal would codify those programs into state law with a few modifications to ensure the support for farmers and remediation can continue.
The department was slated to provide a more detailed PFAS update to the agriculture committee Thursday, but it was postponed due to inclement weather closing state facilities early.
Thanks to a $60 million allocation in the 2021 state budget, the department has developed a program to assist farmers and respond to high levels of PFAS in agricultural land. In the years since, the department has made significant progress on those efforts and learned that most contaminated farms can remain viable with the proper support, said Beth Valentine, director of the department’s PFAS Fund.
As Ingwersen told the committee, LD 130 would enshrine in statute Maine’s existing response program for PFAS contamination on farmland, which has been touted as a national leader. The PFAS Response program currently has seven full-time staff members who provide technical and financial assistance to more than 80 farms with varying levels of contamination.
There is also a three-person PFAS Fund team that provides direct financial support and access to health services, as well as further research to better inform farmers. The bill includes modest revisions to the fund to make it more efficient and effective, Valentine explained.
“The only reason that I can speak to you today and talk about our farm in the present tense is in large part due to the state’s creation of the PFAS Fund and the work that DACF has done to support Maine farmers who are dealing with PFAS,” Lee said.
The bill also includes new restrictions on PFAS — which have been linked to serious long-term health problems including cancer, weakened immune systems, developmental issues, and more — that advocates and members of the agricultural community praised during the public hearing. The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), Maine Farmland Trust and the University of Maine System, including the Cooperative Extension were among those who testified in support of the bill.
The proposed legislation would allow the department, in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, to set maximum PFAS limits in farm products.
Establishing these limits would provide relief to farmers who are unsure if their products are safe to sell, said Sarah Woodbury, vice president of policy and advocacy for the Portland-based public health nonprofit Defend Our Health.
Heather Spalding, executive director of MOFGA, echoed the support, saying that farmers haven’t received guidance on whether they should pull their products from the marketplace, so these limits would offer protections and a more level playing field.
There was also support for other components of the bill that could be described as housekeeping measures, such as changing the required number of meetings each year for the fund’s advisory committee and ensuring that health information handled by the response program is treated as confidential.
Valentine clarified that the bill does not include a fiscal note because the original funding that established the program is sufficient to keep it running.
No one testified in opposition to the bill during the hearing Thursday.
While Maine has been a leader in establishing PFAS protections — including being the first state to pass a rule requiring manufacturers to report intentionally added PFAS in products — lawmakers have multiple proposals this session to continue addressing the prevalence of PFAS in the state.
For example, Rep. Dan Ankeles (D-Brunswick) put forth a package of legislation seeking to remove and regulate PFAS-laden firefighting foam after 1,600 gallons of it spilled at the Brunswick Executive Airport last summer.
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