A PFAS advisory sign along Starkweather Creek. (Henry Redman | Wisconsin Examiner)
Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday announced a $145 million budget proposal to address PFAS pollution across the state, an amount that more than doubles the money set aside in the last state budget to address the problem.
In the 2023-25 budget, Evers and lawmakers set aside $125 million in a trust fund to be spent on PFAS remediation, but the governor and Republicans in the Legislature failed to reach an agreement on a bill that would get the money out the door.
Communities across the state have been affected by water contaminated with PFAS, a family of man-made compounds known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down easily in the environment. PFAS have been used to manufacture household goods such as non-stick pans, fast food wrappers and certain types of firefighting foam.
Clean water advocates saw the $125 million appropriation set aside two years ago as a good first step for addressing the problem. Democrats and advocates turned against a bill authored by a group of Green Bay-area Republicans, including Sen. Eric Wimberger (R-Oconto), because they believed it would allow polluters to receive funds through its innocent landowner grant program and let them off the hook for damage they caused.
As the debate over that bill took place through much of the last legislative session, residents of communities harmed by PFAS pollution complained that the bill did nothing to address the state’s lack of a standard for the acceptable level of PFAS in groundwater — the source of drinking water for the large portion of residents who use private drinking wells. The state has passed standards for PFAS in surface water and municipal water systems, but a previous effort to set a groundwater standard was halted by Republican appointees on the state Natural Resources Board in 2022.
Another proposed rule from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to set a groundwater standard has stalled because it is estimated to cost more than $10 million to implement. Under a state law known as the REINS Act, any administrative rule with an estimated cost over $10 million must be approved by the full Legislature.
That proposed rule is set to expire March 12, which would require the DNR to start the years-long rulemaking process over again. On Tuesday, Evers announced he has approved a new rulemaking effort to set a groundwater standard.
Under Evers’ budget proposal, the $145 million would be used to create a grant program for municipal water systems addressing PFAS pollution, helping private well owners sample and test their wells for the chemicals, research the destruction and disposal of the chemicals, provide grants to local businesses to reduce or eliminate their use of PFAS and provide bottled water to affected communities. The proposal, according to a news release, would also “protect innocent landowners like farmers who unknowingly spread biosolids containing PFAS,” an issue that Wimberger has cited as his motivation for his inclusion of the language that Democrats objected to in his previous bill.
In a news release, Wimberger responded to Evers’ proposal, saying the governor had finally come around to his view on the innocent landowner provisions while complaining Evers had not provided a counter-proposal to last year’s failed bill.
“It seems Governor Evers has come around to my position and supports my bill that he vetoed last year,” Wimberger said. “His proposals today are an admission of what I’ve been saying for years: we can’t just write the DNR a check for $125 million to fight this problem. We need a strong legal framework to fight PFAS contamination, including language protecting innocent landowners from being treated like polluters. However, I’ve been waiting for months for the Governor to clarify his definition of an ‘innocent landowner,’ and he has refused to respond to my requests. This delay is holding up meaningful solutions to PFAS problems affecting communities across our state. I find myself sitting at the table waiting to have a meaningful conversation on how we can pass a bill to fight PFAS in Wisconsin, and I hope the Governor will join us there soon.”
The language of Evers’ proposal isn’t yet public so it’s unclear how his definition of innocent landowners differs from Wimberger’s bill, but Erik Kanter, government relations director for Clean Wisconsin, told the Wisconsin Examiner that exempting farmers who spread PFAS-contaminated biosolids from being held responsible for PFAS pollution was something that had been talked about among lawmakers and interest groups. He added that Clean Wisconsin couldn’t support a PFAS bill unless the innocent landowner definition is narrowed.
Evers said he also wants to expand eligibility for the state’s well compensation grant program, which helps fund the addition of treatment systems or replacement of private wells. The program currently does not apply to private wells used for drinking water. He also said he wants to pass a bill that would exempt the proposed groundwater standard from the REINS Act requirements and prohibit the spreading of biosolids that exceed certain PFAS levels.
“Whether it’s kids in the classroom, families at home, or our farmers and agricultural industries, Wisconsinites’ health and well-being depend on access to clean, safe water,” Evers said in a statement. “Folks should be able to trust that the water coming from their tap is safe, but we know that’s not the case for far too many families and communities. We have a responsibility to ensure Wisconsinites have access to safe, clean drinking water no matter where they live in our state.”
The governor called on lawmakers not to repeat past delays.
“This is an urgent issue, and we cannot afford more years of inaction and obstruction,” Evers said. “I urge Republicans and Democrats to work together to do what’s best for our kids and Wisconsin’s families by investing in critical efforts to improve water quality and get contaminants out of our water in our next state budget.”
Evers’ full budget proposal is set to be released Feb. 18.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.