Morning Update: What you need to know in Maine today

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I picked and planted things and moved old sludge piles by hand that had old toilet paper sticking out of them. No one told us that it was a forever chemical pile.”

— Lisa Toles, a migrant farmworker who has worked for 20 years at farms and greenhouses in Maine that were contaminated with PFAS. Toles received a letter from the state urging her to get tested and wanted to but has been delayed because she did not have insurance.

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

Few Mainers are getting tested for PFAS despite a push by the state. The 164 positive tests the state has collected since last fall likely represent a fraction of the people exposed to high PFAS levels.

Brewer repaid more than $773,000 to Northern Light after a tax dispute. The amount of money became public two months after a judge’s ruling.

Bangor will preemptively comply with a state law limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Monday night’s City Council vote refers to a Maine law expected to take effect in July.

Maine’s proposed data center ban could restrict a facility planned at the former Loring Air Force Base. A bill headed to the Legislature would halt permits for facilities using more than 20 megawatts of power until late 2027.