AUGUSTA - The Legislature's Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement and Business Committee voted Friday to advance a measure from Rep. Dan Ankeles, D-Brunswick, that would establish a long-term plan for replacing aging infrastructure on the former Brunswick Naval Air Station, commonly known as Brunswick Landing. The vote was 9-0 with four members absent. The absent committee members have until Tuesday at noon to cast their votes.
"I want to thank all members of the committee for recognizing the serious challenges we face on Brunswick Landing and understanding that these challenges have statewide implications," said Ankeles. "This vote is incredibly good news for our region's economy, its environment and the health and safety of all who live here."
Since the closure of the Brunswick Naval Air Station in 2005, the area has been identified as a PFAS hotspot due to the use of firefighting foam and other PFAS-laden materials when the base was active. According to reporting in 2022, a U.S. Navy study found that PFAS concentrated near the Brunswick Landing runway is likely a primary source of PFAS contamination in local groundwater and may be contaminating the aquifer that supplies two wellfields in the Brunswick and Topsham Water District. The amount of PFAS impacting the roughly 18,000 residents served by those water districts is well above recommended safe levels according to Maine's drinking water standard.
"We need to get started on this multi-year process right away," said Ankeles. "With state and local government working together with the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, we have a far better chance of solving this problem before it gets exponentially worse. We are energized, and we are ready to work."
As amended, LD 941 would establish a group of nine individuals, including environmental experts, town officials and a bipartisan group of state legislators, to evaluate the need to upgrade critical environmental and conventional infrastructure. The group would also assess the health and safety risks to residents, businesses, flora and fauna in the region, review ongoing federal and state remediation work related to PFAS contamination and develop a comprehensive plan and submit a recommendation for the Legislature to act on.
The measure faces additional votes in the House and Senate.
Ankeles, a member of the Transportation Committee, is serving his first term in the Maine House and represents District 100, a central slice of Brunswick that includes downtown, the former naval airbase and Bowdoin College.
Contact:
Brian Lee [Ankeles], 305-965-2744