The debate over landfill leachate in Maine is ultimately about accountability. As state officials consider expanded leachate storage capacity at Pine Tree Landfill in Hampden, residents should pay close attention to an important question: Will PFAS treatment be required, or merely discussed?

Juniper Ridge Landfill generates roughly 43,000 gallons of leachate each day. Pine Tree Landfill adds thousands more. Both leachates contain significant concentrations of PFAS, including short-chain compounds that are difficult to remove and are not captured by Maine's "sum of six" drinking water standard.

What concerns me most is that Pine Tree Landfill already has a direct pipeline to the Bangor Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is not designed to remove PFAS. Expanding storage capacity could make it easier to hold, mix, and transfer PFAS-contaminated leachate to Bangor without treatment than to actually treat it.

This is not simply a technical issue. It is an environmental justice issue. The Penobscot River is a resource held in trust by all who depend on it, value it, and steward it. It should not become a receiving water for persistent chemicals because treatment requirements remain uncertain or unenforceable.

Maine has an opportunity to lead on PFAS. That begins with clear, enforceable requirements that contaminated leachate be treated before discharge, rather than relying on future studies or voluntary measures. Without such assurances, expanded storage in Hampden risks making PFAS treatment optional when it should be mandatory.

John Krueger lives in Northport