Senator Collins Secures $1.6 Million for PFAS Treatment Facility in Funding Bill
Washington, D.C.— U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a senior member of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that she secured $1,600,000 in the draft Fiscal Year 2022 Interior Appropriations bill to support the installation of a PFAS treatment system at the Anson Madison Sanitary District wastewater treatment facility, which will serve the entire state of Maine. The bill, which was officially released by the full Appropriations Committee yesterday afternoon, must still be voted upon by the full Senate and House.
“Unfortunately, Maine has experienced considerable PFAS contamination, which has not only threatened our water supply, but adversely affected the livelihoods of farmers,” said Senator Collins. “In 2016, a dairy farmer in Arundel discovered that the milk produced on his farm contains some of the highest levels ever reported for a PFAS contaminant. In 2020, a dairy farm in Fairfield found PFAS levels in its milk were 153 times higher than the Maine standard for determining whether it was fit for sale. In addition to these environmental threats to Maine’s family farms, we now also know that PFAS appears in drinking water and in products across the spectrum—even cosmetics.
“By supporting the construction of a PFAS treatment system, the funding for this project would help Maine address the PFAS contamination threat to our communities statewide and ensure a safe food and water supply,” Senator Collins continued. “I will continue to champion this investment as the appropriations process moves forward.”
Maine currently lacks the necessary infrastructure for PFAS remediation, particularly in the area of animal manure treatment and disposal. Dairy farms with PFAS contaminated milk also have contaminated manure that wastewater treatment facilities will not currently accept without first acquiring enhanced PFAS filtering technology. Without any suitable options for disposal of contaminated manure, this raises a severe threat for uncontrolled releases when manure pits become full. The best long-term solution is off-site treatment at wastewater treatment facilities and disposal at secured landfills.
If the Fiscal Year 2022 Interior Appropriations bill is enacted into law, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection would use this funding Senator Collins requested to design and install a PFAS treatment system at the Anson Madison Sanitary District wastewater treatment facility. This facility would serve the entire State of Maine and safely address PFAS contamination in the state.
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PFAS are a class of man-made chemicals—sometimes referred to “forever chemicals”—that can bioaccumulate in bodies over time. They are traditionally found in food packaging, nonstick pans, clothing, furniture, and firefighting foam and have been linked to cancer, thyroid disease, liver damage, decreased fertility, and hormone disruption.
Senator Collins has helped lead Congress’ work on a bipartisan basis to address PFAS contaminants and conduct environmental remediation when needed. In February, Senator Collins co-sponsored the Protecting Firefighters from Adverse Substances (PFAS) Act, which would help protect firefighters, emergency responders, and communities from exposure to PFAS. This legislation passed the Senate in July.
In May, Senator Collins and Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME) sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Council on PFAS, highlighting Maine’s extensive and unfortunate history with PFAS issues and urging the Council to work with the State of Maine on remediation. Also in April, the Senate passed the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 with an amendment co-sponsored by Senator Collins to allow states to assist more households impacted by unregulated contaminants like PFAS. Additionally, Senator Collins joined a group of colleagues in calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to set standards on PFAS found in bottled water, to ensure bottled water products are safe for drinking.
The fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act authorized additional funding for research on the health impacts of PFAS, including an adopted amendment Senator Collins cosponsored with Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) authorizing an additional $15 million for the PFAS study being conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In June, Senator Collins introduced the No PFAS in Cosmetics Act, which would ban the inclusion of PFAS chemicals in cosmetics products, such as make-up, moisturizer, and perfume.
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