While alerts have been downgraded from ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’ to ‘moderate,’ the air quality could still be a problem throughout the rest of this week.
maine department of environmental protection
Posted inMaine, News
Maine’s small vernal pools may get bigger state protections
A bill now awaiting action by Gov. Janet Mills would create a 100-foot no-disturbance protection zone around Maine’s vernal pools, among other protections.
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Posted inMaine, News, Schools and Education
EPA restores $1.6M UMaine PFAS grant
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.
Posted inHealth, Maine, News
Canadian wildfires prompt another air quality alert for coastal Maine
Smoke from the wildfires is expected to move out by Tuesday but could return as the fires continue to burn across Canada.
Posted inMaine, News
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.
Posted inHealth, Maine, News
Seasonal allergies getting worse? Blame climate change.
As temperatures rise, plants produce more pollen over a longer period of time. But locally collected pollen counts are on the way to help Mainers with seasonal allergies navigate the worst of the sneeze season.
Posted inMaine, News
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.
Posted inMaine, News
With funds running out, Maine is at a PFAS crossroads
A multiagency presentation before lawmakers warns of the difficulty the state will face trying to meet the needs of residents adversely affected by the spreading of sewage sludge containing forever chemicals.
Posted inMaine, 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.
Posted inMaine, 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.