ASSOCIATED PRESS • March 2, 2021
Gov. Janet Mills has asked the Maine congressional delegation to help secure federal funding to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, contamination. Mills wrote a letter to the state’s four members of Congress asking for federal funding and regulation to deal with the “forever chemicals” due to their persistence in the environment and the human body. In addition to requesting federal funding, Mills asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal regulators to take decisive action, including adding PFAS to the federal list of hazardous substances, setting maximum contaminant levels in drinking water, and investing in research into how the chemicals contaminate plants and animals.