TESTIMONY FOR LD 2070
LD 2070: An Act to Prohibit Landfill Expansion into Wetlands
Assigned Committee: Committee on Environment and Natural Resources
Public hearing date: February 11th, 2026
Maine Green Independent Party urges the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources to vote Ought to Pass (OTP) on LD 2070
Good morning, Chairs Sen. Tepler, Rep. Doudera and honored members of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of LD 2070 An Act to Prohibit Landfill Expansion into Wetlands.
My name is Kelly Merrill and I serve as the Co-chair of the Maine Green Independent Party, representing over 37K registered voters in the state.
In a system run amok by a federal administration that has gutted environmental protections for land, water, and air, the State of Maine must be a frontline of defense. We support all measures to protect the lands and waters that sustain us. The health of the lands and waters are indistinguishable from our own. Protecting that health must be the central consideration in this matter.
We are living in a time when the President calls climate change a hoax and the Administration asks us to disbelieve our senses. But we who have been walking with nature bear witness to crashing insect populations, alarming bird declines, plummeting numbers of amphibians, terribly sick trees and ailing waterways. PFAS contamination pollutes our soil and is forever in our bodies. Micro-plastics in our brains went up 50% in the 8 years from 2016-2024. And leachates are of particular concerns.
Corporations should be disallowed from producing products that cannot dissolve back into the land and water without harm. But until we dismantle systems that perpetuate corporate crimes and corporate greed, it is up to us to hold the line and protect our people, and protect our futures. Protecting our delicate wetlands helps protect that future.
And no one is going to do that for us.
We respectfully urge this committee vote Ought to Pass on LD 2070 and protect Maine wetlands.
Respectfully submitted,
Kelly F. Merrill
Co-Chair, Maine Green Independent Party
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