Maine has emerged as a national leader in addressing forever chemicals by banning their use in most products, cleaning up tainted farmland and setting strict public drinking water standards before most states knew PFAS compounds posed a public health risk.
Most private well owners, however, have been forced to test and treat their own water for these chemicals.
A lawmaker from Brunswick — the site of Maine’s worst forever chemical spill — wants the state to pay for private well testing and for treatment of the most contaminated ones.
“We’ve had a lot of important debates about what government should do and what our tax dollars should pay for,” said Rep. Dan Ankeles, D-Brunswick. “Access to clean drinking water seems like it ought to be a high enough priority to transcend core partisan disagreements.”
Ankeles’ bill, LD 2115, would create a million-dollar fund to cover testing costs for private well owners who live near a source of forever chemical pollution and pay for bottled water, treatment and possibly a public water hook-up for those with the most contaminated wells.
The average cost to test a well for forever chemicals is $300, according to public health advocates. Filtration costs will vary based on contamination levels, from as low as $30 for a pitcher filter up to a $3,500 house system. Old filters must be replaced over time, some annually.
Ankeles said he considers this bill as “unfinished business” from the 2024 firefighting foam spill in Brunswick. Many of those who testified in favor of the bill in front of a legislative committee this week hailed from Brunswick.
Robert Whitehouse lives a mile and a half from the airport hangar at the now-redeveloped naval air base where 41,450 gallons of firefighting foam containing forever chemicals was accidentally discharged in August 2024 due to a malfunctioning fire suppression system.
His well water tests above the state’s new public drinking water standard, but that standard does not go into effect until 2029, and even then it only applies to public water systems. He had to pay for his own filtration system, which he said cost him $2,905.
“All the wells anywhere near the old Navy base should undergo certified testing paid for by the state of Maine,” Whitehouse said in testimony. “Maine should assist in paying for mitigation … Ordinary citizens like myself cannot afford to sue the federal government for redress.”
Amy Self had to use $35,000 in retirement funds to connect her Brunswick house to town water.
“Many Maine families go without filtration due to cost,” said Self, whose well tested over federal safety limits in the weeks after the firefighting foam spill but has since dropped back down. “The cost of town water hook‑up, if available, remains out of reach.”
The Environment and Natural Resources Committee plans to take up the bill again on Feb. 4. If the committee endorses the bill, the legislation would have to be approved by both the House and Senate, in addition to being approved for funding by the finance committee, before going to Gov. Janet Mills for review.
The original bill delegated the authority to decide exactly who qualifies for treatment to the state Department of Environmental Protection but prioritized those private wells located closest to a source of forever chemicals, like a spill site, a landfill or an industrial discharge pipe.
But on Wednesday, Ankeles said he planned to amend the bill to prioritize treatment money for wells near a contaminated site that exceed 20 parts per trillion of six forever chemicals, Maine’s old public drinking water standard.
One part per trillion is the equivalent of one drop of water in 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
In December, the state lowered its public drinking water limit to 4 parts per trillion for two of the most harmful forever chemicals and 10 parts per trillion for three others combined. The standard, which goes into effect in 2029, applies only to public water, not private wells.
As amended, the proposed $1 million fund would probably run out of money before private wells that test just over the new safety limit — like Brunswick residents Whitehouse and Self — would get treatment assistance. But the scope could broaden if more money becomes available, he said.
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has repeatedly warned lawmakers that it is running out of money to investigate and clean up forever chemicals. Maine has spent more than $100 million on agricultural testing, farm buyouts, water treatment and research.
DEP has warned it will eventually have to force even those whose wells are highly contaminated by sludge spreading — a state-permitted activity dating back to the 1970s that the state estimates has impacted at least 111 Maine farms — to pay to maintain state-funded water filtration systems.
But it may get some relief in court. In 2023, Maine filed a lawsuit against the big manufacturers of forever chemicals, including Dupont and 3M, for selling products they knew were harmful to human health. The lawsuit seeks to recover the cost of cleaning up forever chemicals.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, have exceptionally strong carbon-fluorine bonds that allow them to resist water, grease and stains. They are called forever chemicals because they do not break down easily in the environment, leading to accumulation in soil, water and people.
Forever chemicals have been used since the 1940s in consumer products and industry, including in nonstick pans, food packaging and firefighting foam. Even trace amounts are deemed harmful, linked to a host of health problems that range from immune deficiency to certain cancers.
This story was originally published by the Maine Trust for Local News. Penny Overton can be reached at poverton@pressherald.com.