PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 8, 2025
Maine Monitor Editor Kate Cough wrote an informative piece last month about the need for “compensation rules for solar on farmland.” Questions were raised about amounts of compensation to farmers, as well as the potential for “’dual use’ panels that allow for some agricultural activity to continue, like growing blueberries or grazing sheep.” I learned that “about 10% of the state’s nearly 22 million acres are considered ‘soils of statewide importance.’ Of those soils, 800,000 acres are considered ‘prime,’ or land that is ‘of major importance in meeting the nation’s short- and long-range needs for food and fiber. I beg to differ. As one of nearly 22,500 Brunswick residents exposed to the sixth largest PFAS spill in the United States, I offer this paradigm shift: Every inch of our Maine soil is prime. Every inch of our soil on this planet is prime, whether for agriculture, forest, solar or housing. ~ Abbie Sewall, Brunswick