PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 29, 2025
A Camden lawmaker is proposing an increase in state fines for improper pesticide use in response to a high-profile case in which a wealthy landowner’s pesticide use damaged a neighbor’s trees and caused chemicals to migrate to a nearby town park. The proposal from Rep. Vicki Doudera comes in response to a 2022 case in Camden in which Amelia and Arthur Bond were cited for improperly using the herbicide Tebuthiuron, despite it being labeled “not for residential use,” and for violating town ordinances by clearing too much vegetation and topping trees too close to the shoreline. The Bonds paid over $1.7 million in penalties. LD 1697 would raise civil fines for pesticide violations from a maximum of $1,500 per violation to $25,000. In cases where the violator is found to have “benefitted substantially” from the violation, the maximum penalty would increase from $4,000 to $50,000.