PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A Maine task force has completed its list of recommendations to the governor and lawmakers on how to confront so-called forever chemicals.
Gov. Janet Mills created the Maine PFAS Task Force last March, and after seven months it produced recommendations on potential legislative action.
Recommendations include that water systems serving more than 25 people be required to test for forever chemicals; that manufacturers divulge the use of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in consumer products; and that treatment plans continue to test municipal sludge before it is used as fertilizer.
Members were split on a decision to allow the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to order the cleanup of sites that have been contaminated, the Portland Press Herald reported.
The 30 to 40 specific recommendations provide a road map for legislative action that endorses efforts underway at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, said Jeff McBurnie, director of permitting and regulatory affairs at Casella Organics, which operates a composting facility in Unity, Maine.
“It’s basically a wish list, to some degree, understanding that we have limited resources and we can’t do everything,” McBurnie said.
State health officials also set a standard for forever chemicals in drinking water of 70 parts per trillion, a move critics have called insufficient to protect public health.
The substances persist in the environment and have been increasingly found to be contaminating drinking water around the country.
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