{"id":86985,"date":"2026-02-27T14:26:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T19:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mofga.org\/?post_type=advocacy&p=86985"},"modified":"2026-02-27T14:26:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T19:26:02","slug":"a-failure-to-regulate","status":"publish","type":"advocacy","link":"https:\/\/www.mofga.org\/advocacy\/toxics\/a-failure-to-regulate\/","title":{"rendered":"A Failure to Regulate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Bill Pluecker<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Capitol\"
Bill Pluecker photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The state of Maine has been at the forefront of cleaning up the toxic mess created by PFAS chemicals. The legislature has passed a ban on consumer products that are created using PFAS; banned the land application of sludge (which is contaminated by PFAS in 99% of the cases); and banned the use of PFAS in pesticides. The bans on PFAS in consumer products just started to go into effect in January 2026, and while the law is on the books banning PFAS in pesticides, it does not go into full effect until 2032. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the meantime, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA,) led by administrator Lee Zeldin and a cadre of political appointees with long ties to the chemical and pesticide industries, continues to approve more PFAS pesticides for use. While PFAS pesticides contaminate our water, soil, and food, the greatest hazard will always be for the farmers and farmworkers who work with these dangerous chemicals on a daily basis. Farmers have one of the highest suicide rates of any occupation because of the incredible financial stress created by variable federal policies, along with the unpredictable nature of weather, pests, and disease. When pesticides are put on the market, and farmers are told they must use them to produce a cheap crop, they feel they have no other choice: either they put their health at risk or they risk losing their farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Maine Board of Pesticides Control voted on December 19, 2025, to allow the EPA\u2019s permitted PFAS pesticides for use in Maine. Despite Maine\u2019s own laws restricting the use of PFAS in pesticides, the millions of dollars spent on cleaning up PFAS contamination on Maine farms and then keeping them in business, the restrictions on eating fish and deer due to PFAS contamination, and the hundreds of millions that are needed to fully clean up our drinking water, the BPC voted to continue the contamination of our food and farmers by allowing PFAS to remain in pesticides. Maine stands apart from many states because it regulates pesticides under its own set of standards, using the EPA\u2019s regulations as the floor, with the freedom to create the ceiling. This means that when the chemical industry buys its way into the EPA, we do not have to follow suit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, Maine farmers have every right to worry about their financial security in light of the ways that the federal government continues to subsidize chemical use in corporate agriculture. Mainers need to recognize that these subsidies do not support Maine farmers, and that the market is rigged against us. In those circumstances, Maine farmers have hard choices to make. The BPC should protect our farmers and all Mainers by not registering these pesticides for use here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The BPC seems to have bought the EPA\u2019s corporate talking points on PFAS even while conservative voters are losing faith in their decisions. The New York Times reported that \u201cMake America Healthy Again\u201d (MAHA) activists were targeting EPA\u2019s Zeldin because he has prioritized the interests of chemical corporations over the well-being of American families and children. While the EPA continues to approve new pesticides that meet the Maine definition of PFAS (there have been consistent efforts by industry in Maine and D.C. to redefine PFAS in order to deregulate many of the 12,000 chemicals that fall under the class of poisons), the argument that the EPA is a staunch advocate for combating PFAS contamination does not ring true for either side of the aisle, especially after last spring when the EPA delayed deadlines for water utilities to limit PFAS in drinking water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The weaknesses of the EPA\u2019s reliance on studies influenced or conducted by industry was recently illustrated when a study, published 25 years ago, was redacted by a leading scientific publication. The study \u2014 which was often cited by the EPA \u2014 stated that glyphosate, a widely used herbicide, is safe for human exposure. It was found to be heavily influenced by scientists associated with its very manufacturer, Monsanto. The links between glyphosate and leukemia have been repeatedly found through the years, but this study has been used to refute subsequent experiments that contradicted its findings. The EPA has repeatedly found glyphosate and other pesticides to be safe for human exposure based upon industry-sponsored research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some studies have found that 80% of us have glyphosate in our blood. The MAHA movement, among others, is calling on the EPA to reopen their study of the safety of glyphosate. Meanwhile, we watch as the EPA and Maine BPC continue to follow corporate-sponsored science. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studies indicate that all of us, including newborns, have PFAS in our blood at levels that are likely to cause health effects if we live long enough. The Environmental Working Group found that, on average, 2.5 million pounds of pesticides containing PFAS are annually sprayed on California crop fields, where 30-40% of American vegetables and almost 75% of fruits and nuts are grown. Sixty-six active ingredients in pesticides are PFAS chemicals. While Maine makes progress banning the use of PFAS in consumer products, and we have laws on the books banning PFAS from pesticides, the BPC continues to allow them in the state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In emails from the Maine BPC to licensed pesticide applicators, the board acknowledges that these new pesticides have PFAS in them without using the term PFAS. Instead they communicated to applicators that the pesticide \u201ccontains a fluorinated carbon.\u201d This ignores the legal definition of PFAS in Maine: \u201cPFAS means substances that include any member of the class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom.\u201d Maine has had a clear definition of PFAS on the books for five years, and that definition has withstood many efforts to undo it. It is time that the BPC adhere to that definition instead of looking for legal loopholes to avoid regulations.        <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MOFGA is in D.C. this spring fighting to have these chemicals taken off the menu, out of our food, and out of our environment. We are one of the very few state-based organizations that has prioritized this fight, and we could not do it without the support of our members and farmers. We have chosen to fight for a healthier, more self-sufficient way of life for ourselves and our state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Join us in this fight by writing letters to the BPC letting them know that public sentiment is opposed to the way they are regulating these chemicals. Let them know that Maine taxpayers are tired of having to pick up the cost of the clean-up while profits are made by toxic chemical manufacturers. Write congress, write your state legislator, and write the Board of Pesticides Control letting them know that you support Maine\u2019s PFAS definitions as written and expect them to be adequately enforced. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bill Pluecker<\/em><\/strong> is working to engage MOFGA’s membership and farming community in pursuit of our shared policy goals as MOFGA\u2019s public policy organizer. He\u2019s been farming for 20 years and is serving his final term in the Maine Legislature. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was originally published in the spring 2026 issue of\u00a0The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":86986,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"inline_featured_image":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"categories":[222],"tags":[104,130],"class_list":["post-86985","advocacy","type-advocacy","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-toxics","tag-pesticides","tag-pfas"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Failure to Regulate - Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mofga.org\/advocacy\/toxics\/a-failure-to-regulate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Failure to Regulate - Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Bill Pluecker The state of Maine has been at the forefront of cleaning up the toxic mess created by PFAS chemicals. 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