An Act Relating to Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Contamination in the State
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 2013
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Amends: 5 MRSA §12004-I, 7 MRSA §320-L

Legislative Document
No. 2013
S.P. 729
In Senate, March 9, 2022
An Act Relating to Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances 
Contamination in the State
Reported by Senator DILL of Penobscot for the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, 
Conservation and Forestry pursuant to Joint Rule 353.
Reference to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry suggested and 
ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 218.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  5 MRSA §12004-I, sub-§2-H is enacted to read:
2-H.   
Agriculture
Advisory Committee on the Fund To 
Address PFAS Contamination
Expenses Only 
MRSA 
§320-L
Sec. 2.  7 MRSA c. 10-D is enacted to read:
CHAPTER 10-D
FUND TO ADDRESS PFAS CONTAMINATION
§320-K. Fund To Address PFAS Contamination
1.  Definitions.  As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Advisory committee" means the Advisory Committee on the Fund To Address 
PFAS Contamination in section 320-L.
B.  "Agricultural enterprise" means a person or business located in this State and 
engaged in the commercial growing or harvesting of plants; raising of animals; growing 
or obtaining plant or animal by-products; or further processing, storing, packing or 
marketing a raw product derived from plants, animals or plant or animal by-products 
with the intent that the product be sold or otherwise disposed of to generate income.
C.  "Agricultural land" has the same meaning as in section 32, subsection 2.
D.  "Biosolids" has the same meaning as in section 742, subsection 1-A.
E.  "Fund" means the Fund To Address PFAS Contamination under subsection 2.
F.  "Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances" or "PFAS" has the same meaning 
as in Title 32, section 1732, subsection 5-A.
2.  Fund established.  The Fund To Address PFAS Contamination is established 
within the department as a nonlapsing fund for the purposes specified in this chapter.
3.  Sources of fund.  The fund is funded from funds accepted by the commissioner or 
allocated or appropriated by the Legislature.
4.  Purposes.  Allocations from the fund may be made as determined by the department 
upon recommendation of the advisory committee and for the following purposes:
A.  Monitoring the health of a person, and members of that person's household, whose 
agricultural land is found to be contaminated by PFAS;
B.  Relocating a person whose agricultural land is found to be contaminated by PFAS;
C.  Buying and selling agricultural land found to be contaminated by PFAS;
D.  Investing in equipment, facilities and infrastructure to ensure that an agricultural 
enterprise with land found to be contaminated by PFAS maintains profitability while 
the agricultural enterprise transitions to a new cropping system; 
E.  Assisting an agricultural enterprise with land found to be contaminated by PFAS 
with developing enterprise budgets for alternative cropping systems or transitioning to 
alternative agricultural enterprise revenue streams, including but not limited to land use 
systems combining agricultural use of the land with solar energy production;
F.  Providing short-term assistance to a person whose agricultural land is found to be 
contaminated by PFAS, including but not limited to income replacement and mortgage 
payments;
G.  Conducting research that informs the development of infrastructure to increase 
PFAS testing capacity statewide, such as establishing state testing laboratories, and 
data management;
H.  Conducting research that supports short-term farm management decisions and 
assesses future options for viable uses of agricultural land;
I.  Conducting research that quantifies the impact of PFAS on the State's agricultural 
enterprises and agricultural communities;
J.  Conducting research on soil and water remediation systems and the viability of those 
systems;
K.  Assessing current uses of PFAS;
L.  Funding for educational programs for landowners, including but not limited to 
determining best practices for informing residents about the potential of being near or 
on a biosolids application site, and providing information and guidance on buying or 
selling agricultural lands that have had biosolids applied; and
M.  Long-term monitoring of contaminated sites and establishing a corresponding 
centralized data repository.
5.  Administration.  The department shall administer the fund allocations with the 
review and advice of the advisory committee.  The department may contract for 
professional services to carry out the purposes of this section.
6.  Rules.  The department may adopt rules to implement this chapter.  Rules adopted 
pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A.
§320-L. Advisory Committee on the Fund To Address PFAS Contamination 
The Advisory Committee on the Fund To Address PFAS Contamination is established 
pursuant to Title 5, section 12004-I, subsection 2-H to make recommendations to the 
department regarding administration of the fund.  In order to develop recommendations for 
the department, the advisory committee may form working groups that include and seek 
input from subject matter experts from the public and private sectors to deliberate issues 
relating to the purposes of the fund, including but not limited to health monitoring, short-
term financial aid for farmers, research priorities, solar siting, long-term environmental 
monitoring and land acquisition.
1.  Membership.  The advisory committee consists of:
A.  The commissioner or the commissioner's designee; 
B.  The Commissioner of Environmental Protection or the commissioner's designee;
C.  The dean of the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station at the University 
of Maine, College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture or the dean of the 
University of Maine Cooperative Extension, appointed by the President of the 
University of Maine;
D.  The Attorney General or the Attorney General's designee; 
E.  Two members of the public representing the agricultural sector, appointed by the 
commissioner; and
F.  One member of a soil and water conservation district as defined in Title 12, section 
3, subsection 2, appointed by the commissioner.
Sec. 3.  Advisory committee to consider findings and recommendations.  By 
March 1, 2023, the Advisory Committee on the Fund To Address PFAS Contamination 
established in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 7, section 320-L shall consider the 
Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry February 4, 2022 report "Findings 
and Recommendations for a PFAS Study Plan Supporting L.D. 558" when developing 
advisory committee recommendations, including but not limited to funding for research, 
regarding administration of the Fund To Address PFAS Contamination.
Sec. 4.  Appropriations and allocations.  The following appropriations and 
allocations are made.
AGRICULTURE, CONSERVATION AND FORESTRY, DEPARTMENT OF
Bureau of Agriculture 0393
Initiative: Provides one-time funding for initiatives to address perfluoroalkyl and 
polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, contamination on agricultural land in the State.
GENERAL FUND
2021-22
2022-23
All Other
$0
$100,000,000
__________
__________
GENERAL FUND TOTAL
$0
$100,000,000
SUMMARY
This bill is reported out by the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation 
and Forestry pursuant to Joint Rule 353.  The committee is reporting the bill out for the 
sole purpose of turning the proposal into a printed bill that can be referred to the committee 
for an appropriate public hearing and subsequent processing in the normal course. The 
committee has not taken a position on the substance of this bill and by reporting this bill 
out the committee is not suggesting and does not intend to suggest that it agrees or disagrees 
with any aspect of this bill.
The bill establishes the Fund To Address PFAS Contamination within the Department 
of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the corresponding Advisory Committee on 
the Fund To Address PFAS Contamination to make recommendations to the department 
regarding administration of the fund.  The bill authorizes the department to allocate funds 
upon recommendation of the advisory committee and for certain purposes, including but 
not limited to monitoring the health of a person, and members of that person's household, 
whose agricultural land is found to be contaminated by perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl 
substances, or PFAS; buying and selling agricultural land found to be contaminated by 
PFAS; conducting research; assisting an agricultural enterprise with land found to be 
contaminated by PFAS; funding for educational programs; and long-term monitoring of 
contaminated sites and establishing a corresponding centralized data repository.
The bill also authorizes the advisory committee to form working groups that include 
and seek input from subject matter experts from the public and private sectors to deliberate 
issues relating to the purposes of the fund, including but not limited to health monitoring, 
short-term financial aid for farmers, research priorities, solar siting, long-term 
environmental monitoring and land acquisition.
The bill provides one-time funding of $100,000,000 to address PFAS contamination 
on agricultural land in the State.