Maine businesses are feeling discouraged by the slow pace of progress on our state’s reporting requirements for PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Originally, manufacturers were supposed to report the presence of PFAS compounds in products by Jan. 1, 2023. However, the deadline was extended to 2025 because of the slow pace of rulemaking by DEP and the inability of Maine’s businesses to comply.

PFAS broadly refers to thousands of unique chemical compounds, and identifying them for the reporting requirement has proven to be a vastly unrealistic for businesses across the state. The reporting requirement will be unworkable for businesses if it continues to use such an unrealistically broad definition of PFAS. Rather, the state legislature must amend the law to prioritize commercially-active PFAS that pose the greatest risk, widely known as a risk–based approach.

Idexx Laboratories, a global leader in pet health care innovation and agriculture technology headquartered in Maine, shared that the company has experienced difficulties identifying PFAS in its supply chain because suppliers are reluctant to share trade secrets, and acquiring this information isn’t practical for many complex products.

During a recent hearing with the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, Diana Rondeau, director of product compliance for Idexx Laboratories, expressed concern that the company would be unable to comply with the reporting requirement despite years-long efforts to identify PFAS in their supply chain, which according to Rondeau meant analyzing up to 1,200 parts per product. When asked about the company’s views on regulating PFAS through a risk-based approach, Rondeau answered, “It’s a place to start, essentially, so that we’re not trying to prioritize everything.”

Idexx is one of Maine’s largest job creators, employing more than 3,000 people. If a company of this caliber struggles with compliance, imagine how difficult and burdensome it has been for other smaller Maine employers to comply. If left unchanged, Maine’s PFAS in Products law could force companies like Idexx to leave our state or risk noncompliance through no fault of their own.

While I commend Maine’s leadership role in addressing PFAS, Maine must provide businesses with a realistic timeline and framework to help effectively identify and remediate contaminated sites, while addressing other high-risk PFAS. A risk-based approach allows for responsible PFAS management without threatening Maine’s economic growth or pushing integral suppliers and businesses out of state. It also ensures businesses have the resources they need to swiftly identify PFAS compounds of the highest concern.

Since Maine first passed the PFAS in Products legislation in 2021, experts in the federal government have cautioned against such an unrealistic class-based approach. In August, the Department of Defense urged federal policymakers to “consider and balance the range of environmental and health risks associated with different individual PFAS, their essentiality to the U.S. economy and society, and the availability of viable alternatives.” In September, the State Department wrote that proposed European PFAS policies should account for “the safe use of those substances already in commerce, particularly for uses critical to the functioning of society” and called for “effective risk management across the spectrum of PFAS.” These comments make clear that taking a risk-based approach will allow Maine to become the nationwide leader in sustainable and responsible PFAS management.

The need to address high-risk PFAS is urgent, and Maine has made great strides. But the most effective policies allow for practical solutions, and it is time for Maine to reform its PFAS reporting requirements to protect our health and environment while safeguarding our state’s strong and growing economy.

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