MAINE MORNING STAR • May 19, 2025
Rep. Amy Arata, a Republican from New Gloucester, got approval from legislative leaders to introduce a late-session bill (LD 1982) to change how PFAS substances are defined in state law. She believes the current definition is overly broad and could include chemicals that don’t pose the same long-term health problems as PFAS, which have been linked to cancer and weakened immune systems. Arata’s proposal is for Maine to adopt the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s narrower definition for PFAS. Arata is largely concerned with farmers being unable to use certain pesticides. The Department of Environmental Protection opposes the bill because the state already has a process to seek exemptions to use products with PFAS that would otherwise be prohibited under the state ban.