MAINE PUBLIC • March 17, 2022
Members of a legislative committee voted unanimously Thursday to endorse a bill that would tap $100 million of Maine’s surplus to help farmers impacted by PFAS contamination. For months, lawmakers have heard from Maine farmers whose land or water has been contaminated with the "forever chemicals" that were hidden in sludge that was spread as fertilizer through a state-licensed program. The state has begun testing more than 700 sites that potentially received materials deemed to be at higher risk of containing PFAS. The Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee recommended that the Legislature’s budget-writing committee set aside $100 million of the state’s estimated $1.2 billion surplus for the PFAS fund.