PFAS contamination is wreaking havoc on Maine farmers and their families and the Maine Legislature should immediately pass L.D. 2013.
Our son and his wife bought their organic farm in Unity six years ago and have put their hearts and souls into running a successful business. Two and a half months ago, they learned that their land was spread with municipal waste in the early 1990s. Since then their land, well and bodies have tested positive for PFAS contamination. They can no longer remain on the land and are looking for a place to move. Just yesterday, when they normally might have been planting seedlings in their greenhouses, they spent the day taking their 3-year-old to a pediatric endocrinologist for testing.
Maine farmers who are affected by this contamination need strong support to address the financial and health impacts of PFAS contamination. L.D. 2013 would provide that assistance by establishing a fund that would help with income replacement, mortgage payments, health monitoring and relocation services.
The Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee will hold a hearing on L.D. 2013 at 9 a.m. Tuesday. If you value the local food system in Maine and care about your neighboring farms, please contact your legislators or consider testifying in support of this bill.
Betsy Hall Nordell
Helena, Montana
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.