Maine
PFAS Soil and Groundwater Evaluation of Sludge and Septage Sites
Public Law 2021, Chapter 478, effective October 18, 2021, requires the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to develop and carry out a program to evaluate soil and groundwater for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at locations licensed to land apply sludge or septage before 2019. DEP began the statewide evaluation in November 2021. The first round samples soil at the licensed sites and nearby private drinking water wells that DEP finds at risk; DEP's scientists then decide whether an expanded "step-out investigation" is needed.
In a Phase I ESA
ASTM E1527-21 does not name PFAS investigation records among its standard record sources. On farmland, or on land near fields once licensed for sludge or septage, this evaluation is a state record of PFAS sampling at or near the property. Four Maine details shape how to read it.
- A site can be many parcels. DEP says a site typically includes multiple fields, may cross district, town and county lines, and may now have different owners than when it was first licensed. Its example is a site that was an active farm in 1986 and may now include several small farms, a subdivision and a school. A house lot can therefore sit inside a licensed site.
- Sludge sites are ranked in tiers. In October 2021 DEP placed all licensed sludge land application sites in four tiers, by the volume of sludge applied, whether homes are within 1/2 mile, and whether PFAS is likely in the sludge. Tier IV is sites where the information gathered so far indicates no sludge was applied.
- Progress is dated. DEP's status table, as of December 1, 2024, counts 1,066 sites to investigate, with initial investigation begun at 536 (DEP's count includes complete, ongoing and just-begun investigations) and complete for soil at 449 and for groundwater at 486. DEP says the septage site investigation was completed by December 31, 2024, with long-term monitoring of filter systems continuing. The law required at least half the investigation by December 31, 2024 and all of it by December 31, 2025; the page says DEP is in the process of requesting an extension of the 2025 deadline, and does not say whether one was granted.
- Wells are judged against a state standard. Where private wells exceed Maine's interim drinking water standard for the sum of six PFAS (PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHxS, PFHpA and PFDA) and the contamination is likely from land application, DEP says it provides bottled water until a filtration system is installed and found effective. DEP's main PFAS page says the interim standard of 20 ppt for the six remains in effect until April 26, 2027, for private and public water supplies.
DEP also investigates PFAS at cleanup sites, and names the Uncontrolled Sites, Municipal Landfill Closure and Remediation, VRAP and Brownfields programs among those that have done so. A 2025 law requires solid waste landfills that collect leachate to sample it for PFAS; see Solid Waste Management. DEP's Residuals, Sludge and Composting page says its Utilization program staff oversee the land application of sewage sludge and of septage, with licensing among their tasks.
Where to look a site up
- DEP's PFAS Investigation Map, formerly the "Septage and Sludge Map", shows where water or soil samples were collected at or near sludge or septage land application sites, and has a box to find an address or place.
- The PFAS and Maine DEP page links a list of communities with Tier I to III sites, as of January 2025. DEP says the list names communities, not specific locations, to protect landowner and homeowner privacy. The same page lists the septage sites by county and municipality, and links preliminary private well information by town.
- This handbook did not open the map or the lists.
- DEP takes inquiries about the evaluation at pfas.dep@maine.gov. DEP sends questions about health risks from PFAS exposure to the Maine CDC at 1-866-292-3474.
Getting the file
The pages read do not say where the evaluation's records for one site are kept or how to ask for them. Ask at pfas.dep@maine.gov, and see DEP's Freedom of Access route on the File Room, Reports and Lists page.
Sources
Maine Department of Environmental Protection pages, read October 13, 2026, no modified date shown: