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Defend Our Health hosted a visit from a delegation of Massachusetts legislators, department staff, as well as environmental and farm advocates on Tuesday, August 12th, for a day-long event. The event strengthened regional working relationships, garnered significant media interest, and laid the groundwork for Defend to support a bill introduced by Massachusetts Senator Jo Comerford that would ban the land application of sludge in MA and create a fund to support farmers impacted by PFAS.

Bill sponsors Senator Comerford and Representative De Rosa, along with about 20 of their colleagues from the legislature, state government, and the nonprofit sector, began the day with a visit to PFAS-impacted farmer Fred Stone in Arundel, ME. They had the chance to hear from Fred and Defend Our Health’s former board member, Senator Henry Ingwersen. Defend treated the delegation to a working lunch, and the delegation spent the afternoon in a listening session and round table conversation co-hosted by Representative Bill Pluecker and Sarah Woodbury in the Legislature’s Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee Room in Augusta. 

Impacted farmers Brendan Holmes, Lawrence Higgins, and Defend’s Adam Nordell spoke about the health impacts of PFAS as well as the way that the chemicals have upended farm businesses and the lives of people in the farming community. Representative Lori Gramlich spoke powerfully, along with Rep. Pluecker and Senator Ingwersen, about the need to tackle PFAS contamination through policy channels and the importance of holding chemical manufacturers accountable for their pollution.  Delegates from the Maine Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry spoke about their respective efforts to support farmers impacted by PFAS and how Massachusetts state government programs might learn from both the successes and the challenges of Maine’s policy response. Woodbury then led a well-attended press event, which resulted in media coverage in multiple outlets across both states.