Securing Access to Clean Drinking Water

An Act To Provide Passamaquoddy Tribal Members Access to Clean Drinking Water (2022)

LD 906 improves access to safe drinking water for the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Sipayik and surrounding communities. For decades, the public water supply delivered by the state-regulated Passamaquoddy Water District has often been discolored, odorous, and tainted with high levels of carcinogens – and systemic barriers have blocked efforts to address the unsafe and deteriorating water system. LD 906 is a victory in the fight for clean drinking water for all communities. It assigns jurisdiction over Passamaquoddy drinking water to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, not the State of Maine, enabling the tribe to regulate its own drinking water under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. It also opens the door to new federal funding opportunities and gives the Passamaquoddy Water District critically needed financial support.