PRESQUE ISLE — A utility in northern Maine will need to find a new way of disposing of wastewater sludge after tests revealed soil from fields used to spread the sludge are higher than the state threshold for a class of chemicals.
The tests revealed fields used by the Presque Isle Utilities District were above the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s upper limit for so-called PFOS.
The DEP’s threshold is 5.2 parts per billion in soil, and nine of Presque Isle’s 12 tested fields reached 7.6 parts per billion or higher.
The Bangor Daily News reported that district superintendent Frank Kearney said the district has been planning to phase out the practice. He says the district is asking Maine DEP for permission to apply about 500,000 gallons that are still in storage.
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