Governor Mills applauds Senator Collins for securing $1.6 million for PFAS treatment facility

When combined with money provided by the Mills Administration, this funding can help build a regional PFAS treatment facility at the Anson Madison Sanitary District

On October 19, Governor Janet Mills applauded U.S. Senator Susan Collins for securing $1.6 million in the draft Fiscal Year 2022 Interior Appropriations bill to support the installation of a Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) treatment system at the Anson Madison Sanitary District wastewater treatment facility.

Governor Mills wrote a letter of support for the project and her Administration, through the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, has committed $1 million in state funding to the project through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. Additionally, the Governor’s Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan invests an additional $1 million toward the project.

“Maine is making significant headway in responding to PFAS contamination, but we still lack the appropriate infrastructure to treat PFAS-contaminated materials,” said Governor Janet Mills. “If approved, this funding would be a critical step forward in our efforts to remediate this harmful substance. When combined with funding from my Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, we will be in a position to design and install a PFAS treatment system that can serve as a regional facility. I applaud Senator Collins for her work to secure this funding and hope that it will pass both the House and Senate so that my Administration can put it work on behalf of Maine people.”

If approved by the full Senate and House, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection will provide this funding to the Anson Madison Sanitary District to design and install a PFAS treatment system at their wastewater treatment facility.

Under the leadership of Governor Mills, Maine has taken aggressive action to address PFAS contamination, including:

• Ÿestablishing drinking water standards for PFAS,
  
• Ÿestablishing containment and reporting requirements for firefighting foam containing PFAS,
• Ÿinstalling more than 125 drinking water treatment systems,
• Ÿestablishing wastewater sludge testing requirements and eliminating land spreading of PFAS contaminated sludge,
• Ÿestablishing screening levels for PFAS in soil, wastewater, fish tissue and milk, and
• Ÿexpanding the statute of limitations for Maine citizens to file claims for PFAS contamination.

Additionally, the Administration will sample more than 700 sites where wastewater sludge has been spread, install drinking water treatment for all homes that have tested over Maine’s drinking water standard for PFAS, and require manufacturers to report PFAS content in all products sold into Maine beginning in January 2023.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, scientific studies have shown that exposure to some PFAS, which are widely used, long lasting chemicals, in the environment may be linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals.