22-05-2025
Citing Maine Morning Star reporting, Pingree presses EPA on PFAS grant terminations
Rep. Chellie Pingree outside the U.S. Capitol. (Rep. Chellie Pingree via Facebook)
Citing Maine Morning Star's reporting, Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine pressed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on conflicting statements about why it cut grants for forever chemical research in Maine.
Earlier this month, the EPA terminated all of the grants it had awarded for research into reducing per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, otherwise known as PFAS, in the food supply, including to three Maine-based teams led by the Mi'kmaq Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe and the University of Maine. The three grants for Maine projects amounted to almost $5 million. The termination notices read, 'The objectives of the award are no longer consistent with EPA funding priorities.'
In a statement to Maine Morning Star, the EPA Press Office equated the grants to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion measures. However, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin publicly stated the grants were important and already congressionally appropriated when questioned by Pingree. Overall, the agency has highlighted combating PFAS contamination as a priority in recent weeks.
Despite saying PFAS contamination is a priority, EPA cut millions in funding for research in Maine
In a letter to Zeldin on Thursday, Pingree requested he address these inconsistencies and clarify EPA priorities by May 30.
'Do you and the EPA consider tribes – which are sovereign governments to which we have trust and treaty responsibilities – 'DEI?' If so, under what basis do you make that claim?' one of Pingree's questions to Zeldin in the letter reads.
When asked why the grants no longer aligned with agency priorities, the EPA Press Office sent a statement on May 16 to Maine Morning Star, which read:, 'As with any change in administration, the EPA has been reviewing all of its grant programs and awarded grants to ensure each is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars and to understand how those programs align with administration priorities. Maybe the Biden-Harris administration shouldn't have forced their radical agenda of wasteful DEI programs and 'environmental justice' preferencing on the EPA's core mission of protecting human health and the environment treating tribes and Alaska Natives as such.'
Pingree and several of the researchers pushed back on this response, pointing out that the research objectives do not involve DEI or environmental justice and are about protecting public health. PFAS have been linked to long term adverse health outcomes, such as cancers and weakened immune systems, and their pervasiveness in agriculture is not fully understood.
The statement is also directly at odds with the response Zeldin gave to Pingree about the grant terminations during an Appropriations subcommittee hearing on May 15.
After Zeldin told the subcommittee that addressing PFAS contamination is a priority for the agency and him personally, Pingree asked, 'Since these grants are consistent with the EPA priorities, do you know why they were terminated?'
Zeldin responded, 'It's an important program. It's something that's congressionally appropriated. The agency's going through a reorg, so the way that the program and these grants are administered are going to be different going forward. But these are important grants. I look forward to working with you, and your team as we're able to continue that good work going forward.'
In light of these conflicting responses, Pingree asked Zeldin in her letter to confirm that addressing PFAS is a priority for the agency.
'If PFAS is a priority, which I believe you have stated many times, please provide more
information about why the above listed grants were terminated,' the letter reads. 'They are not 'DEI' grants and they meet a key priority of the Agency so I would like some clarity as to the exact reasoning for these grant terminations.'
The grantees have 30 days from their termination notices to make the case that their work is in compliance with the EPA's priorities. The team headed by the Mi'kmaq Nation filed its appeal on Wednesday. If the agency determines the grants are in line with agency priorities, Pingree also requested information on how and when the awards will be reinstated.
Referring to the agency's work as a whole, Pingree additionally pressed Zeldin about the agency's plans for PFAS research beyond these grants.
'Without grants that fund research and scientific advancement for PFAS remediation, how will the EPA make determinations about effective remediation for PFAS in agriculture, water systems, and contaminated lands?' she wrote in the letter.
Read more about the grants here.
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