Governor Janet Mills today welcomed an announcement from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that it is launching a comprehensive Strategic Roadmap to confront PFAS contamination nationwide:
“PFAS contamination is a devastating problem in Maine, hurting peoples’ lives and livelihoods. That’s why we have taken aggressive action to identify and mitigate the impacts of PFAS across the state,” said Governor Janet Mills. “While Maine is leading on PFAS discovery and response, having the resources and support inherent in Federal leadership will be a significant benefit. I applaud the EPA for its commitment to addressing PFAS.”
The U.S. EPA’s action follows a call from Governor Mills for the Federal government to assist Maine in its efforts to address PFAS contamination. It also follows a series of aggressive actions Maine has taken under the Governor’s leadership to address PFAS contamination, including:
- establishing drinking water standards for PFAS,
- establishing containment and reporting requirements for firefighting foam containing PFAS,
- installing more than 125 drinking water treatment systems,
- establishing wastewater sludge testing requirements and eliminating land spreading of PFAS contaminated sludge,
- establishing screening levels for PFAS in soil, wastewater, fish tissue and milk, and
- expanding the statute of limitations for Maine citizens to file claims for PFAS contamination.
Additionally, moving forward, the Administration plans to sample more than 700 sites where wastewater sludge has been spread, install drinking water treatment for all homes that have tested over Maine’s drinking water standard for PFAS, and require manufacturers to report PFAS content in all products sold into Maine beginning in January 2023.
In March 2019, Governor Mills signed an Executive Order that established a PFAS task force.