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Augusta, Maine, April 15 – The legislature voted overwhelmingly today to end the use of industrial and municipal sewage sludge as fertilizer. This sludge was the source of widespread contamination from PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in the state that has forced family farms to discontinue sales and face financial ruin. It has also poisoned the drinking water wells of families in entire rural communities.

The legislation, LD 1911, which was engrossed unanimously in the Senate yesterday and enacted with an 85 to 50 vote in the House today, is now nearly ready for the Governor’s desk. As the bill enjoyed the support of her administration, the Governor is expected to sign it.

“We cannot afford to ignore this contamination in the vain hope it will just go away. We cannot pass along the mistakes of past generations to our children for them to deal with,” said Rep. Bill Pluecker (I-Warren), the lead sponsor of the bill. “Passing LD 1911 is vital to the prevention of further contamination. This legislation enables us to take decisive action to help future farmers and give our children safe land, capable of growing healthy food that will feed Mainers for generations to come.”

While the Maine Department of Environmental Protection started applying restrictions limiting some uses of contaminated sludge in 2019, significant loopholes remained available to utilize sludge. In particular, contaminated sludge was allowed to be composted, and while composting had no impact on the PFAS, the resulting material was allowed to be sold to farmers, landscapers, and even home gardeners. LD 1911 addresses these loopholes by putting an end to all utilization of sludge as a soil amendment or for mixing with compost.

“Since helping share Fred Stone’s story of the destruction of his dairy farm by PFAS in 2019, we have been demanding the state put an end to the use of contaminated sludge as fertilizer,” said Sarah Woodbury, Director of Advocacy at Defend Our Health. “We are glad to see the state finally taking the action necessary to make sure future farmers won’t be facing the same heartbreak and financial ruin that has been inflicted by the application of contaminated materials directly to our land.”

“Every day we are hearing new stories about the devastating impacts of PFAS contamination on our farmland, our rural communities, and, most recently, our waterways,” said Senator Rick Bennett, (R-Oxford), the lead Senate co-sponsor. “We must do all that we can to stop further contamination and limit exposure to these toxic chemicals. LD 1911 will help us do just that. I’m proud that Maine is once again leading the way on this issue.”

“The passing of LD 1911 is essential for the safety of our lands and waters. As a farmer, this is all quite personal and an essential step in righting past wrongs. When we know better, we do better. Ending the practice of spreading PFAS contaminated compost and sludge in our raised bed gardens, lawns and precious farmland is crucial. We can have the cleanest food in the nation and be the breadbasket of New England with meaningful changes like passage of 1911,” said Senator Stacy Brenner (D-Cumberland), senate Chair of the Joint Environment and Natural Resources Committee.

LD 1911 faced significant opposition from Casella Waste Systems, which operates the Hawk Ridge compost facility that generated PFAS-contaminated compost for use in Maine from predominantly out-of-state municipal sludge. Casella, and its astroturf lobbying group, made misleading arguments about the capacity to handle sludge in other ways while denying the dangers posed by PFAS. Fortunately, the legislature listened to the nonpartisan experts from the Maine DEP who confirmed alternatives were available.  

The bill, as originally drafted, applied existing screening standards for PFAS to sludge-derived compost, and required the DEP to update the standards based on the more stringent protections enacted last year on PFAS in drinking water. However, based on testimony from the DEP that nearly all sludge and sludge-derived compost already fails the screening standards, and once standards were updated to reflect more stringent requirements, that virtually all sludge and sludge compost would fail, the legislative committee opted to amend the bill to simply ban the use of sludge as a fertilizer or in compost.

LD 1911 continues a pattern of Maine advancing precedent setting and strongly bipartisan policies to address PFAS pollution. Last year, the state enacted a ban on all non-essential uses of PFAS to be effective in 2030, as well as specific actions to protect drinking water and address clean-up.  

However, more will still be needed to continue to protect our health and ensure justice for impacted farmers and communities.

“Maine has much work ahead to continue to address PFAS, including the implementation of the bans on its use in non-essential products and testing and addressing contaminated land and water. We also must work rapidly to provide relief to impacted farmers and rural families with contaminated wells. The $60 million in the supplemental budget is a strong start, but is likely to be inadequate to fully address the problem,” added Sarah Woodbury.