Latest news with #LD222
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
PFAS bills introduced in Brunswick spill aftermath receive sweeping support, await funding
Approximately 1,600 gallons of foam containing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, was accidentally discharged at Brunswick Executive Airport's hangar 4 on Aug. 19, 2024. (AnnMarie Hilton/ Maine Morning Star) Though there are still funding details to sort out, a slate of proposals brought forward after 1,500 gallons of toxic firefighting foam concentrate spilled in Brunswick last August have been backed by the Maine Legislature. 'Since August 19, 2024, hardly a day has gone by where our delegation hasn't put work into an entire suite of legislation both to help Brunswick recover and, even more importantly, to make sure that what happened to us cannot happen anywhere else,' said Rep. Dan Ankeles (D-Brunswick) on the House of Representatives floor earlier this month. On Wednesday, the Senate passed the last of a package of three bills that Ankeles crafted in the aftermath of the spill to help rid Maine of Aqueous Film Forming Foam, also known as AFFF, which was historically used for firefighting and has been linked to harmful effects to humans and the environment. Accidents not waiting to happen The final proposal to receive initial passage votes would establish a voluntary, statewide takeback program for the foam. The Senate approved LD 222 30-0, and it will now go back to each chamber for final enactment votes. AFFF contains perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, which has been linked to serious long-term health problems including cancer. Knowing these concerns, the state restricted use of the foam in 2021, but it is still stored at airports, fire stations and other industrial sites throughout the state. Ankeles' bills received sweeping bipartisan support from the Legislature's Environment and Natural Resources Committee, as well as the chambers at large. However, two of the bills have been sent to the budget committee to determine whether they will be funded. Another bill in the package, LD 407, directs the quasi-governmental agency that manages the airport where the spill happened, called the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, to stop using and get rid of the toxic firefighting foam that is still at the site. Since the bill doesn't tap into state funds, Ankeles said he's working with the agency to secure the funding it will need to get rid of the chemicals. 'Getting this resolve to the chief executive's desk will help my constituents — and Rep. [Cheryl] Golek's constituents just a couple of streets over — rest a tiny bit easier knowing that the toxic AFFF will never again be deployed in our community,' Ankeles said last week before the bill received a 128-14 vote in the House. LD 407 received final enactment votes this week and will be sent to Gov. Janet Mills for her approval. Ankeles' two bills awaiting funding are meant to not only protect Brunswick but all Maine communities from future toxic spills. Those two proposals are LD 400, which will create a publicly available inventory of the firefighting foam in the state, and LD 222. These will not only help the state know how much of the toxic foam still exists, but also assist fire departments that don't have the budgets to properly dispose of it. After approval from both chambers, LD 400 was placed on the special appropriations table in late April with a fiscal note of about $86,000 annually for the next two years. That money would be used to cover the cost of a new position to compile the inventory. While it is now up to the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee, Ankeles said he is hopeful it will get funded after he worked with the Department of Environmental Protection to find a way to fund the proposal without using the state's general fund. With a $5 million fiscal note, LD 222 will likely also end up on the appropriations table. It will first go back to the House for a final enactment vote and then return to the Senate. Since the bill asks for one-time funding rather than ongoing support, Ankeles hopes that will put it in a better position to be funded in a tight budget-cycle. However, he said he is also going to advocate for the Environment and Natural Resources Committee to rank LD 222 as the committee's top priority to receive funding from the budget committee. Of all the bills the committee worked on this session that will cost money, Ankeles said this takeback program could have the 'biggest impact.' 'It will create the infrastructure with a single spending action that is not ongoing and the state will be able to get rid of every drop of this terrible poison,' he said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Bills to find and destroy Maine's toxic firefighting foam win over legislative committee
Mar. 5—Spurred on by last year's Brunswick Landing chemical spill, a Maine legislative committee unanimously endorsed two proposals Wednesday that would catalog, collect and destroy the state's unwanted stockpile of toxic firefighting foam. The Environment and Natural Resources committee voted in favor of LD 400, which directs the Office of the State Fire Marshal to conduct a statewide inventory of all aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF, and LD 222, which creates a statewide take-back program of any unwanted foam. "The Office of the State Fire Marshal recognizes this is a serious issue facing our state and we want to be a contributing agency to get this done as fast as possible," said State Fire Marshal Shawn Esler on Wednesday. "We would like to get started on this immediately." The Aug. 19 Brunswick foam spill was the biggest of its kind in Maine history. A faulty sprinkler system dispensed 51,450 gallons of foam laced with toxic forever chemicals in an airport hangar at Brunswick Landing, a redeveloped naval air base that is now home to hundreds of homes and businesses. The bills, plus one other that would require all foam to be removed from Brunswick Landing, have met with enthusiastic support from the Brunswick community, including many neighbors who say they don't want another community to endure an accidental spill like the one that upended theirs. Even trace amounts of the forever chemicals that make up the bulk of the foam are considered a public health risk, according to federal regulators. High exposure over a long time can cause cancer. Exposure during critical life stages, such as in early childhood, can also cause life-changing harm. The inventory bill would require Esler's office to survey all public agencies that might use foam to smother high-heat fuel fires, like fire departments and airports, as well as private ones, like the fuel depots in South Portland and factories that keep it on hand to fight chemical fires. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection estimates that such agencies have built up a stockpile of about 50,000 gallons of foam, but that is based on the admittedly lackluster response to an earlier state inventory effort. No one really knows how much foam is out there now. The inventory, which would eventually be posted to the state fire marshal's public website, would cost about $170,000. The money would cover two years' pay for a temporary office assistant to conduct the survey and educate foam users about the looming take-back program. The take-back bill would require DEP to roll out a state-funded take-back program for unwanted foam by July 2027. Based on the old inventory results, and using cost estimates from New Hampshire's program, DEP estimates a take-back program would cost Maine about $5 million. The take-back program would be voluntary; while fire stations welcome the state's offer to assume the cost and responsibility of storing and disposing of the toxic old foam, some departments can't afford to purchase new foam without forever chemicals, which can cost $300 for a 5-gallon pail. The foam that spilled at Brunswick Landing was left over from the property's days as a 3,100-acre naval air base. The base closed in 2011 and is now home to hundreds of residents and businesses, but it is also a Superfund site with a long history of environmental contamination. The 22,000 gallons of spilled foam and rinse-water was trucked to Arkansas and Ontario for incineration. The committee rejected an amendment suggested by Defend Our Health, a Portland-based public health advocacy group, that would have discouraged the Maine Department of Environmental Protection from disposing of the foam in poor communities of color out of state. Sen. Stacy Brenner, D-Scarborough, said she appreciated the intent, but she didn't want to tie DEP's hands, especially given how quickly disposal technology is evolving. DEP Commissioner Melanie Loyzim has already said she didn't want to dump Maine's PFAS problems on other states. "The legislative intent is to collect and destroy the foam," said Brenner, who has ushered in many of Maine's forever chemical laws. "I don't know that we need to get into the specificity of the decision that (DEP officials) make about how they destroy it." The bills — part of a trio of measures submitted by Rep. Dan Ankeles, D-Brunswick, now head to the Maine House of Representatives and then the Senate for floor votes. If approved by both chambers, the bills would still require appropriations committee approval because of the combined $5.2 million price tag. That is a big ask in a legislative session where lawmakers have been warned there is little state funding available for new legislative proposals. Gov. Janet Mills is already scaling back existing spending commitments and raising some taxes to pass a balanced budget. The governor's budget office is projecting a deficit of $450 million in the next two-year general fund budget, plus an additional $118 million shortfall in the current year's budget for MaineCare, the state's Medicaid program. Copy the Story Link
