Environmental Issues

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This is another issue that demonstrates the difficult business environment in Maine.  This issue has been bounced around since 2017.  First they were going to incentivize data center development.  Then in 2021 Maine offered tax breaks for developers of data centers.  Now 5 years later the pendulum swings back to a moratorium.  We need to have a better execution of our strategy to attract business. 

In 2028 a moratorium on data centers will come to an end, and Maine will have to come up with a plan of how to deal with this new, fast growing industry, and the regulations to drive that.  This is the second bite of the apple on this and the Legislature will be leaving the Maine economy behind if we are not prepared.

These are some of the regulations  I would want to see in the data center legislation next session:

• Identify Co-located independent power sources in the State.
  • This has started with a Republican led bill last session
• Promote or mandate closed-loop systems (separate from grid)
• Create Opportunity Zones around those power sources.  
  • Promote development in those zones with incentives.
• Promote full lifecycle water systems as a standard
• Mandate top Industry standards like from Google
• Pre-development water testing 
• Heat monitoring with temperature ceilings.  

It is a good idea to maintain the environment for Maine.   I think it is central to our State brand, our way of life, and an important part of building our economy.  Regulating PFAS chemicals, and products is a part of that, but we need to be thoughtful and purposeful in our decisions.  This is actually an area that Maine is ahead of much of the nation on.  My goal in the Legislature would to focus not only on reacting, to keep the environment safe, but being proactive to not let these crises go to waste.     Here are three aspects of this issue that need to be addressed, or budgeted for.

PFAS in drinking water:

Maine has done a great job at this.  With technical assistance and revolving loans we have made significant headway in bringing water systems into compliance with the strict matching Maine and federal standards.  

• We need to continue to fund these efforts in the budget.

PFAS in solid waste:

In 2022 Maine was the first State in the nation to outlaw depositing PFAS contaminated sludge (the remains of waste water treatment) onto farmlands.  This created a problem because that left only one way to get rid of this sludge at all the water treatment plants in the State.  That solution was to bring it to the only functioning land fill in the State Juniper Hill, which was filling up fast already.  That leads to a whole  slew of follow on problems.

*   PFAS sludge needs to be mixed in with enough other solid waste, that caused a situation where Maine had to import solid waste, and the landfill would be filled much faster.  

*  The only available expansion of the landfill sits atop of the watershed of the Penobscot  river.

*  Over time these chemicals will leech out into the watershed of the river, and associated tribal lands.

*  That expansion has not even been finalized 4 years later.  

There was literally no plan at all as to what to do after this law was implemented.  There was not any money dedicated to finding a solution here in Maine.  The Legislature did not mandate that Standards for air quality be created.  

That is why Sanford is fighting off a New Jersey company that with little in the way of standards to know their community can be safe.  We cannot as a Legislature just throw Municipalities into these fights because we are unprepared.  We are seeing it with PFAS, and data centers right now.

The State needs to:

•  Clarify regulations for things like air quality standards for the burning, by creating them or aligning with EPA guidelines, so that businesses can understand the goals, and the marketplace that has been created..
• Invest in research and development for a solution to remove these particles from waste.  

This is an issue where we can come up with a bipartisan solution to an environmental problem affects that  all of us.

A Democratic Legislature passed the laws.  Susan Collins brought federal money down to research the problem.

PFAS in Products:

Maine has laws set to go into effect that will outlaw the use of products that contain PFAS.  That may sound good on a consumer level when we are looking for a non-stick frying pan, but at scale that problem can be existential for a business.

Think about horticulture.  If you cannot buy pots, it is going to be hard to sell potted plants.  Same goes for anything produced in Maine that needs a package or a coating.  Consumer products, industrial goods, and other potentially large parts of the economy.  We need to be thoughtful about policies that can get us to our goals.

I understand that law was made with good intentions, and if Maine were the size of say, California, I am sure companies would be lining up to become CA-certified not unlike Ford and General Motors .  But Maine is a consumer market of less than 1.5 million people at the very end of many supply chains.  Assuming that the plant container makers are going to bend to our will anymore than Best Buy did is dangerously optimistic.

Maine should:

• Reach out to other New England States and try to move as a team on some of these issues
• Invest in Research and Development of PFAS free containers and other products that are needed in Maine's economy so that it can be a Maine company that develops these products.
• Work with Industry groups to ensure they can continue to plan for business development in Maine, by having a clear path to implementation.

Like I said at the start of this issue, Maine is blazing a trail in PFAS regulation.   If you are interested in the details of what Maine is doing this website has a good summary of current events.

https://www.pierceatwood.com/maine-pfas-tracker-maine-standards-and-proposed-actions

and this is a link to the .gov site:

https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/healthy-living/health-and-safety/pfas-in-maine

We need to make funding for Maine Open Spaces and Land Trusts more stable.  Credit where credit is due.  The Legislature has recently put in place funding mechanisms for some of these programs.  

The Land for Maine's Future (LMF), is funded by a portion of interest on the rainy day fund, which means it is going to fluctuate with interest rates, and the fund itself.  We are already in a situation where Maine often leaves Federal grant money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) on the table because the LMF fund does not have the matching grants.  That means we, the State are passing up an opportunity for a 100% return on money.

• My proposal is to Fund the LMF fund to a level where all federal (LWCF) grants can be matched.

The Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund (MOHF) is funded primarily by a certain type of lottery scratch ticket. 

• My proposal would be to set aside permanent funding of $350,000, which is about half the current budget so that not all of the funding comes from gambling.  This is not as high a priority since there is not a match to the funding.

Reason this matters:

Both of the current schemes for these conservation programs are going to vaty with the economy, and correlate hard times with lower funding.  Which means at the exact time that we will want these grants flowing into the local economy, or money available to purchase land, there will not be funding.  

No matter what your politics on the cause, the fact is Maine is being affected by warming land and waters.  

• There needs to be research into protecting Maine from invasive species who can now live here.  
• There needs to be investment in helping fisheries, adapt to warming waters, declining fisheries, and migrating zones.

Maine budgets under $3 million for both of these issues, when the potential loss to businesses and property values dwarfs that.  

• I propose increasing funding for these programs up to $5 million annually based on needs