The state’s ambitious multiyear investigation into PFAS contamination from sludge-based fertilizer is not yet halfway done, but costs are mounting as new federal protections arise from mounting scientific evidence of potential human health risks.
Penelope Overton
Staff Writer
Penny Overton is excited to be the Portland Press Herald’s first climate reporter. Since joining the paper in 2016, she has written about Maine’s lobster and cannabis industries, covered state politics and spent a fellowship year exploring the impact of climate change on the lobster fishery with the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team. Before moving to Maine, she has covered politics, environment, casino gambling and tribal issues in Florida, Connecticut, and Arizona. Her favorite assignments allow her to introduce readers to unusual people, cultures, or subjects. When off the clock, Penny is usually getting lost in a new book at a local coffeehouse, watching foreign crime shows or planning her family’s next adventure.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Forever chemicals in sludge fertilizer pose cancer risk, EPA says
Draft findings published Tuesday echo what Maine has been saying since 2022, when it became the first state to ban the use of sludge as fertilizer because of high concentrations of harmful PFAS.
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PFAS in Maine can travel from stream to ski trail through snowmaking
Harmful and persistent forever chemicals that accumulate in some water bodies can be sprayed onto slopes by machine, but the extent of the risk is unknown.
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How climate change is shortening Maine’s ice season, and why it matters
As Maine winters warm, the amount of time Maine’s ponds, rivers and lakes are covered by ice is shrinking, posing a threat to lake health and the winter sports economy.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Maine’s toxic firefighting foam shipped out of state to poor areas
Newly released records show more than 22,000 gallons of PFAS-laden foam and rinse water recovered after the recent Brunswick spill were trucked to waste incinerators in low-income communities far from Maine’s borders.
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$17 million awarded to promote forest sustainability, carbon storage in Maine
Grants awarded by the U.S. Forest Service will pay for private landowners to adopt climate-friendly forestry practices and conserve old-growth forests for carbon storage and help the Penobscot Nation enter carbon market.
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Outfitting New England’s highest peak to give a sneak peek at Maine’s weather
The expansion of the Mount Washington weather network will provide real-time data for skiers, hikers and skaters heading to New Hampshire, but it will also help improve Maine forecasts and preview storm systems heading into the Pine Tree State.
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UMaine building statewide network of weather stations
The 26 automated stations will be installed throughout the state to improve forecasts and severe weather alerts, and to help farmers and foresters manage weather-related risks.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Key takeaways from Maine’s new climate action plan
The updated plan to be released Thursday sets new targets for energy efficiency and aims to ensure that all Maine residents benefit from the state’s responses to climate change.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Budworms ravaged Maine’s forests for years. They’re starting to come back.
An aerial survey confirmed 3,000 acres of Maine’s forest were damaged by spruce budworm in July. Modeling indicates 178,000 acres are at risk of defoliation from budworm larvae that will emerge next spring.