Maine requires chemical testing and pollution controls for waste facilities

Licensed waste facilities cannot handle sludge without producer testing, and facilities that process or burn sludge must control PFAS air pollution. Sludge testing covers licensed solid waste facilities. Air pollution controls cover facilities that process or burn sludge and require an air pollution license. The sludge producer must assess and test the sludge under a Department of Environmental Protection-approved plan that includes PFAS testing. New air pollution sources must use the best available control technology. Existing sources must use the best practical treatment. License applicants must propose controls for approval. Licenses must require PFAS emission testing and proof that emission limits or reduction requirements are met. These requirements took effect when the governor approved the law on April 13, 2026.

Covered landfills must detect leaks, test groundwater for PFAS, and report the test results to the Department of Environmental Protection. The requirements cover new or expanded solid waste landfills that need a permit to alter freshwater wetlands for construction or expansion. Landfills under six acres are exempt if they accept only inert fill, construction and demolition debris, land-clearing debris, and wood waste. The landfill's approved water monitoring plan must include leak detection and groundwater testing. The Department of Environmental Protection approves the compliance schedule. Groundwater test results must appear in the landfill's annual reports.

Maine's environmental commissioner cannot find that a covered state-owned landfill provides a substantial public benefit unless it treats collected liquid to reduce PFAS. The condition covers new or expanded solid waste landfills owned by Maine. Treatment must follow a license issued by the Department of Environmental Protection. The landfill must also meet the other standards for a finding that it provides a substantial public benefit. The treatment condition applies when the commissioner makes the public-benefit finding.

State agencies cannot develop or operate a state-owned waste disposal facility at Carpenter Ridge. Carpenter Ridge is about 1,500 acres of state-owned land in Township 2, Range 8, in Penobscot County. State agencies cannot seek, and the Department of Environmental Protection cannot issue, licenses, license changes, or renewals for that use. Agencies cannot hire another operator to run a state-owned waste disposal facility there. The Penobscot Nation's first chance to buy applies if the state proposes selling all or part of the site. State property-sale laws and rules still apply.

The Bureau of General Services must obtain expert waste-management advice, and the Department of Environmental Protection must review its waste-facility rules. The bureau must examine facility locations and capacity for certain Maine-generated wastes through at least 2050. The department must identify ways to develop or improve waste facilities and management methods. The bureau must consider environmental justice, including how facility locations affect communities. The department must seek waste-industry and public input. Its review must follow Maine's priorities for managing waste. The legislative committee may propose legislation after reviewing either report. The Bureau of General Services report is due on or before March 1, 2027. The Department of Environmental Protection report is due on or before January 15, 2028.