This is Governor Janet Mills. And thank you for listening.

You know, in the fall of 1970, 11-year-old Suzanne Clune wrote a letter to her United States Senator. She lived on the banks of the Little Androscoggin River, once a pristine tributary, where deer could see their reflection drinking from the water and where spring pine and choke berry blossoms "filled the air with the sweetest smell on earth," as she said.

That was before toxic chemicals polluted the waters, and before waste formed swells of thick, discolored foam that ran downstream and coated the riverbanks. "Now, in any season," Suzanne wrote to Senator Edmund Muskie, “You can smell, the most sickening smell on earth, a stench that left frogs gasping for air. I'm sick of the river like this," she said. "Please do something about it.” She signed her letter, "One who loves Maine."

Suzanne's letter sparked Senator Muskie's career-long fight for clean air and clean water. And today, as a result of his actions, the Little Androscoggin River is restored as a pristine waterway like the Androscoggin, the Kennebec, and the Penobscot. Places we now can fish and sail and swim. Places we love. I'm grateful that Suzanne did not wait to act.

Before us now is another threat, one that jeopardizes not only Maine's natural resources, but our state's economy and our social wellbeing, too.

It's the threat of climate change.

Rising ocean and land temperatures threaten our heritage industries – fishing, farming, and forestry. Higher sea levels endanger our coastal communities. More frequent and more powerful storms damage our infrastructure. The devastating consequences of burning expensive fossil fuels to power our economy, despite the harm to our environment, is catching up to us.

When I think about the current crisis, I think about Suzanne. I think about Senator Muskie and Senator George Mitchell, Senator William Cohen, former legislators, Republican and Democrat. Republicans like Harry Richardson and Hoddy Hildreth and Sherri Huber. Environmental champions, bound not by ideology or political party, but by a shared commitment to preserve and protect our cherished home, the state of Maine.

I think about how on April 22nd, 1970, just a few months before Suzanne wrote her letter to Senator Muskie, Senator Muskie addressed a gathering in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia on the first Earth Day. He called for an environmental revolution, and he told the 30,000 people there, “We are not powerless to accomplish this change, but we are powerless as a people if we wait for someone else to do it for us.”

Well, 54 years later, Maine is not waiting to act.

My administration has made significant strides towards building a greener, more sustainable future for this place we cherish as our home.

But we need your help too.

This Earth Day, I encourage all of you to honor Senator Muskie's legacy and the legacy of Maine's environmental stewards by doing all you can to reduce pollution, preserve our environment, protect our natural resources.

There are many events across the state to celebrate Earth Day for families, including nature-themed storytelling, science projects and seed planting, beach cleanups, and trail cleanups.

And like Suzanne and like all of you, I love the state of Maine with its secret waterfalls, its forests and hills and table lands, its fields its shores, its mighty rivers – this unique and beautiful place we call home that offers so many wonders for so many people.

This Earth Day, let's do everything we can to protect it. This is Governor Janet Mills. And thank you for listening.

WHEREAS, on April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans came together to celebrate the first Earth Day, recognizing the importance of protecting our environment and preserving our natural resources; and

WHEREAS, in the months and years that followed, the United States Congress passed the Clean Air, Clean Water, Endangered Species, and Marine Mammal Protections Acts and founded the Environmental Protection Agency; and

WHEREAS, Maine is fortunate to have over 400,000 people aged 60 and over who contribute skills, talent, wisdom, and experience to our great State; and

WHEREAS, our communities benefit when people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds can participate fully with the highest level of independence; and

WHEREAS, older Mainers improve our communities through intergenerational relationships, community service, civic engagement, and many other activities; and

WHEREAS, nurses make up the largest group of health care professionals in the United States and are an indispensable component of the safety and quality of care of Maine residents; and

WHEREAS, the depth and breadth of the nursing profession meets the different and emerging health care needs of the people of Maine in a wide range of settings, such as hospitals, schools, nursing homes, in-patient clinics, and more; and

WHEREAS, the State of Maine is committed to recognizing that our growth and strength depends on the safety and essential role our homes, buildings and infrastructure play, both in everyday life and when disasters strike; and

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

PFAS are widely used and long lasting chemicals that break down slowly over time, and that threaten the health of our people, our wildlife, and our environment. That's why my Administration has worked with the Legislature to implement one of the strongest efforts in the nation to address PFAS contamination in Maine.

In 2021, the Legislature passed, and I signed, nation-leading legislation establishing an interim standard to regulate the presence of PFAS in drinking water. The standard we created in state law was only temporary because we knew that the federal government was going to work on this on its own and issue its own standard. This week, the United States Environmental Protection Agency released its final, national drinking water standard for PFAS.

The Maine CDC is closely reviewing these new Federal standards, which apply only to public drinking water systems, and they will propose a final state standard that brings our drinking water requirements into alignment. The Federal government has given states five years, and additional funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to implement these new standards. That's a recognition that PFAS contamination is a nationwide challenge and Maine is ahead of the curve.

I appreciate this action by the federal government because it builds on our work to protect the health of Maine people from PFAS.

That work started just three months after I took office, when I established a Governor's Task Force to review the prevalence of PFAS in Maine and to put forward a plan to address it.

Led by that Task Force, Maine has dedicated tens of millions of dollars in state funding to remediate PFAS contamination in drinking water treatment systems.

We have also established screening levels for PFAS in soil, fish tissue and milk. And we've have prohibited the spreading of sludge, a widespread source of PFAS historically.

We have established a $60 million PFAS Fund to support farmers whose land and or water has been tested as having a high level of PFAS. We want these farms to survive, we want to remediate any damage to their soil and water, and make sure they stay in business.

We have dedicated funding to test hundreds of deer, turkey and fish to better understand how PFAS in the environment impacts Maine's fish and wildlife.

And we've have expanded the statute of limitations for Maine citizens to file claims related to PFAS contamination and Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey has sued PFAS manufacturers for the damage they have caused. That lawsuit is still pending.

In all, my Administration has worked with the Legislature to dedicate more than $100 million over the past several years to reduce PFAS contamination in Maine and to protect the health of our people, our wildlife, and our environment.

We know there's more to work to do too. So, my Administration will be reviewing this new Federal standard for drinking water, and the science supporting it, to inform our future actions in dealing with PFAS contamination in Maine. This is a nationwide challenge, but I am proud that we are leading the nation when it comes to addressing this.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening. Happy Patriot's Day!

WHEREAS, sexual assault impacts all communities in Maine, and people of all races, genders, and economic backgrounds; and

WHEREAS, over 19,000 people in Maine are sexually assaulted each year and one in five Maine citizens will experience sexual violence in their lifetime; and  

WHEREAS, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 2,900 probable cases of Lyme disease in 2023; and

WHEREAS, the actual incidence of Lyme disease in Maine is likely much higher than reported, disproportionately affecting children between five and fifteen years and adults over sixty-five years; and