AUGUSTA, Maine - A bill aimed at improving drinking water in Maine advanced in the House today, despite concerns from some lawmakers who objected to fees attached to the legislation.
Still, the measure managed to receive strong bipartisan support based in part on the results of a recent U.S. Geological Survey that concluded that as many as 150,000 Maine households could be drinking water with dangerously high levels of arsenic.
Thousands of Mainers whose water is drawn from city water departments or regional water districts take safe drinking water for granted. But Rep. Drew Gattine, a Westbrook Democrat, says that for thousands more that level of water quality assurance is anything but guaranteed.
"That's because Maine faces unique challenges when it comes to water," Gattine said. "Half of all Mainers drink water from private wells, and private wells are not subject to any of the same safety oversight as public water systems."
Naturally occurring toxins in Maine's groundwater have been well-established, but Gattine says few Mainers are really aware of the extent of the water quality problem in the state - and its implications.
"An estimated 150,000 Mainers have drinking water that is contaminated with arsenic at some level higher than the safe drinking water standard," Gattine said. "Right now, less than half of all Mainers who rely on private well water are getting that water tested. And that means that vulnerable people, including pregnant women and children, are routinely exposed to chemicals that we know can cause learning disabilities, birth defects and cancer, and I think that as legislators we can't continue to tolerate this."
Gattine's amended bill, LD 1162, would require the Maine Water Well Commission to distribute educational materials when a private residential well is drilled or deepened so that homeowners are informed about the importance of testing for arsenic and other contaminants. And it would fund the Private Well Safe Drinking Water Fund to provide increased testing of residential private drinking water.
But Rep. Deborah Sanderson, a Chelsea Republican, opposed the effort because she said a lot of that work is already being done. "The CDC already has $150,000 a year for outreach and education on arsenic and the importance of having our wells tested."
Sanderson said that, while arsenic is a serious problem in Maine, Gattine's bill added a fee to Maine water tests to address potential water quality issues that are already under state scrutiny.
"This will actually add a fee not to exceed $10 for water tests through the state of Maine," Sanderson said. "These fees will go to establish a fund, the Well Safe Drinking Water Fund, and these will be used for education and outreach efforts that we're already paying $150,000 dollars for."
Republicans in the House joined Democrats to pass the bill in a 108-40 initial vote. The measure faces additional votes in the House and Senate.
