SPECTRUM NEWS • July 10, 2023
A state panel approved a $70 million plan Monday to help farmers cope with fields contaminated by the forever chemicals known as PFAS. The five-year plan proposes to spend $30.3 million on direct support for farmers, $21.4 million on land purchases and property management, $11.2 million on research and $7.2 million on health needs. More than $16 million is for land purchases. The proposal calls for impacted farmers to approach the state if they want to sell and for the state to pay fair market value for the land as if it were not contaminated. The state would then own the land with the goal of eventually returning it to agricultural production.