Third-generation dairy farmer Fred Stone lost his cows, his livelihood, and his plans for retirement after opening a letter on Nov. 3, 2016.
The letter, from his local water district, said a well providing his drinking water was contaminated—at twice the EPA’s health advisory limit—with some chemicals he’d never heard of and couldn’t pronounce.
Later tests showed his cows’ milk was contaminated too, with as much as 20 times the advisory limit. Stone had to stop selling his milk, and hasn’t sold any since.
The Department of Environmental Protection in Maine, where Stone and his wife, Laura, live, eventually concluded ...