Legislation

© Mulderphoto | stock.adobe.com

Maine first state to ban PFAS in sludge, compost

Maine has become the first state in the U.S. to ban the use of industrial and municipal sewage sludge as fertilizer, a major source of widespread PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) contamination within the state. The state legislature passed LD 1911 April 15 and Gov. Janet Mills signed it into law April 20. As reported by the Republican Journal, a Belfast, Maine-based newspaper, the presence of PFAS in fertilizer has forced many family farms to shut down and has contaminated drinking water wells.

Currently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a PFAS threshold of 70 parts per trillion for drinking water. In Maine, the legislature established an interim state drinking water standard in June 2021 of 20 nanograms per liter for PFAS, including perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctyl sulfonate.

Although the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) began limiting some uses of contaminated sludge in 2019, the Republican Journal reports that “significant loopholes” have remained. Contaminated sludge was still allowed to be composted, which resulted in PFAS-laden material being sold to farmers, landscapers and gardeners. The new law ends all uses of sludge for amending soil and mixing with compost.

In addition, the state also passed LD 1875, which implements a plan to treat PFAS effluent in state-owned landfills. Sponsored by Rep. Stanley Paige Zeigler of Montville, the bill is aimed at the Juniper Ridge Landfill, which is a state-owned facility that is contributing to PFAS contamination of the Penobscot River.

Under LD 1875, state-owned waste disposal facilities are required to treat landfill leachate, reducing the concentration of PFAS as much as possible. The bill also requires treatment to occur prior to its shipment to a wastewater treatment facility or for the leachate to be sent to a facility for PFAS reduction.

The bill further mandates the state DEP to establish technical requirements ensuring the implementation of those requirements within three years and the monitoring of the efficacy of the installed system, the Republican Journal reports.