The federal agency’s reversal comes 1 month after it declared that the University of Maine’s research into ways to reduce the effects of forever chemicals on farms was inconsistent with the EPA’s funding priorities.
forever chemicals
After hailing them as important, EPA cancels PFAS research grants
Termination notices to Maine grant recipients said the work was ‘no longer consistent with EPA funding priorities.’ At least 2 of the 3 Maine recipients plan to appeal the termination.
Lawmakers consider $10M bailout for Fairfield water crisis
A bill would expand the public water system to Fairfield residents whose private wells have been contaminated by toxic forever chemicals from the state’s former agricultural sludge-spreading program.
Maine college students investigate health effects of forever chemicals
But the statewide biotech training program teaching them how to tackle local scientific challenges like this in the laboratory faces an uncertain future because of federal budget cuts.
Bills to find and destroy Maine’s toxic firefighting foam win over legislative committee
The Environment and Natural Resources Committee unanimously endorsed bills to catalog, collect and dispose of Maine’s stockpike of toxic firefighting foam.
Maine makes first purchase of farm contaminated by forever chemicals
The state tapped its PFAS relief fund to spend $333,000 to buy a Palermo hay field where sewage sludge was once spread as fertilizer that tested 3 times above the state’s recommended level for safe dairy forage.
Get toxic firefighting foam out of Maine, lawmakers told
Residents of Brunswick Landing, the site of Maine’s worst toxic firefighting foam spill, joined environmental groups to urge lawmakers to quantify the amount of foam in Maine and fund a voluntary program to collect, store and dispose of it.
Brunswick Landing authority picks new leader in midst of spill cleanup
Daniel Stevenson will become the new executive director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA) on March 3, replacing Steve Levesque, who filled in after former Director Kristine Logan resigned in the wake of August’s chemical spill.
Maine DEP: $50M sludge bond would preserve landfill space
The proposal to bond funding for grants to help local sewer districts tackle the statewide sludge-disposal problem needs approval by a legislative committee and two-thirds of the House and Senate before it could be sent to voters in November.
Maine members of Congress pushing to eliminate trade penalty on PFAS-free outerwear
Because of a loophole, water-resistant clothing made with harmful ‘forever chemicals’ qualifies for a lower import tax. New legislation seeks to change that.