For the first time, Maine has bought a farm with PFAS contamination. The state has closed on a property in Palermo and is working on two more sales.
The concept of buying PFAS-contaminated land has been discussed for years, as the scale of contamination around the state has grown.
And now a state fund created to help farms impacted by contamination has spent $333,000 to buy a 108-acre parcel in Palermo.
According to a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, sewage sludge was used on the land beginning in the late 90's. A 24-acre hay field was used to grow dairy feed on the farm until 2022, when soil tests found levels of PFAS more than three times higher than the state's recommendations.
The preliminary plan is to lease the field to grow other crops that do not absorb as much PFAS as hay does. Any revenue would go back into the PFAS fund.
In the coming months, the PFAS fund expects to enter sale agreements for two other contaminated properties.
