On August 12, I joined colleagues from the Legislature along with representatives from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and advocacy organizations who travelled up to Maine to speak with farmers and well-owners impacted by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals”) contamination and learn from Maine legislators and agency officials regarding their nation-leading work to enact strong policies to support farmers and to protect soil, water, and food from further contamination.
Maine was the first state in the country to investigate the impact of sewage sludge applications on farmland. In response to widespread PFAS contamination, the state has enacted strong policies to protect soil and food from further contamination and provided critical assistance to keep PFAS-affected farms safely in business.
At our first stop, Maine Senator Henry Ingwersen hosted the delegation in his district at the first farm to bring PFAS contamination to light in Maine, Stoneridge Farm in Arundel.
Owner and advocate Fred Stone spoke with the delegation about why he believes a comprehensive state response with financial support for farmers is essential to maintaining a strong and safe local food system.
Later at the Maine State House in Augusta, we heard from and participated in roundtable discussions with impacted farmers, advocates, Maine legislators and agency officials.
Participants emphasized that solutions to PFAS contamination must center the communities experiencing the worst impacts — including farmers, farmworkers, and people in rural communities — and must be interdisciplinary and comprehensive in nature, bringing together stakeholders in medicine, public health, environmental justice, and agriculture and food safety.
Maine’s work offers a tested blueprint for states like Massachusetts to follow as we begin to address this national problem.
This trip is part of my work with Representative James Arena-DeRosa on S.56/H.109, An Act protecting our soil and farms from PFAS contamination, a bill pending in the Joint Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries which offers a policy response, based on Maine’s work, to PFAS contamination in Massachusetts.
As Massachusetts conducts its own investigation into PFAS-contamination on farms and works to achieve stronger protections and support for communities facing PFAS contamination, this trip provided an important opportunity to learn from Maine’s experience, bring those lessons home, and highlight the importance of regional cooperation and partnership.
