The Environment and Natural Resources Committee unanimously endorsed bills to catalog, collect and dispose of Maine’s stockpike of toxic firefighting foam.
PFAS
Posted inMaine, News
Maine makes first purchase of farm contaminated by forever chemicals
The state tapped its PFAS relief fund to spend $333,000 to buy a Palermo hay field where sewage sludge was once spread as fertilizer that tested 3 times above the state’s recommended level for safe dairy forage.
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Posted inMaine, News
Get toxic firefighting foam out of Maine, lawmakers told
Residents of Brunswick Landing, the site of Maine’s worst toxic firefighting foam spill, joined environmental groups to urge lawmakers to quantify the amount of foam in Maine and fund a voluntary program to collect, store and dispose of it.
Posted inTimes Record
Brunswick Landing authority picks new leader in midst of spill cleanup
Daniel Stevenson will become the new executive director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA) on March 3, replacing Steve Levesque, who filled in after former Director Kristine Logan resigned in the wake of August’s chemical spill.
Posted inTimes Record
New administration sparks uncertainty for Brunswick PFAS spill cleanup
Local officials are waiting for what comes next at the federal level while they continue to grapple with a toxic chemical spill.
Posted inTimes Record
High levels of toxic chemicals found in Brunswick airport hangar sewers
Citizen PFAS monitoring revealed concerning levels of toxic chemicals in the sewer outfall of Hangar 6 in Brunswick, though a company hired to assess risk at the hangar said there is no leak of the toxic firefighting foams on the premises.
Posted inBusiness, Health, Maine, Politics
Maine members of Congress pushing to eliminate trade penalty on PFAS-free outerwear
Because of a loophole, water-resistant clothing made with harmful ‘forever chemicals’ qualifies for a lower import tax. New legislation seeks to change that.
Posted inMaine, Times Record
Brunswick waste digester proposal sparks debate
The project, which the developer has yet to formally apply to build, promises renewable gas, though residents are concerned of the project’s environmental impact.
Posted inTimes Record
Insurance claim will only cover a fraction of the Brunswick spill costs
The payout would cover just a fraction of the cleanup costs the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority has accrued since the Aug. 19 chemical spill.
Posted inNorthern Forecaster, The Forecaster
New Cumberland ordinance bans harmful turf materials
The new ordinance, called Chapter 20, aims to protect citizens and natural areas by banning synthetic infill material, which contain microplastics and concentrations of PFAS, in new artificial turf installations.