Evers asks Legislature to release 'forever chemical' funding to help Wisconsinites

MADISON - Gov. Tony Evers is demanding that the state Legislature immediately release $125 million already approved to address "forever chemicals."

Evers said the slow deliberation of a bill introduced earlier this year to spend the money is holding up much-needed help for communities impacted by PFAS in their drinking water.

"While I was proud of the bipartisan work accomplished in the budget to secure the first real, meaningful investment by legislative Republicans to address PFAS contamination statewide, I am disheartened at the lack of urgency that has followed since. Republicans’ continued obstruction of basic government functions is playing politics with our water and peoples’ lives and their livelihoods,” Evers said in a release Tuesday.

“Whether they rely on municipal water systems or private wells, every Wisconsinite should be able to trust that the water coming from their tap is safe, healthy, and free of contaminants, and leaders in this state should be working together to make sure the DNR can do their important work to not only conserve and manage our state’s natural resources but ensure Wisconsinites have access to clean, safe water that families, farmers, communities, and so many others rely upon every day.”

Nearly six months ago, the Legislature approved a $125 million "trust fund" to address PFAS during the budgeting process. But that funding could not be used by the state Department of Natural Resources without legislation to outline how it could be spent, or without explicit approval from the Legislature's budget committee.

Shortly after the passage of the budget, a sweeping PFAS bill was introduced, but it has faced pushback from Evers, environmental groups and the residents of PFAS-polluted communities, resulting in amendments. Though the bill gained the support of the Senate, it still has not received a vote in the Assembly, and Evers has cast doubt on whether or not he'd sign it.

The PFAS bill would create grant programs aimed at providing aid to communities with contamination, in addition to limiting the actions that the Department of Natural Resources could take to address contamination or hold polluters accountable.

It would also commission studies, require a reduction in costs for testing, expand the well compensation grant program, and establish an innocent buyer program that would help out property owners who unknowingly purchase land contaminated with PFAS.

Evers' request for immediate release of the funding, which would have to be approved by the Joint Finance Committee, includes details as to how the $125 million would be spent:

• $64.15 million to support local communities working to address PFAS, including temporary and interim water, resources for private well owners and supplemental loans for projects already receiving federal funding

• $6.35 million to reduce sources of PFAS and to help support transition to alternate products

• $32.25 million to provide resources to private well owners and support public health interventions. The funding would support implementation of the suggested federal regulation of 4 parts per trillion and the public health response

• $9.6 million to conduct research across the state, including the sampling of drinking water, landfills, wastewater, waterways and biosolids. This funding would also be used to support the ongoing study and analysis of the presence of PFAS

• $12.65 million to support different destruction and disposal methods for PFAS

All of the funding would be spent over the course of the next two years, according to the proposal.

Rulemaking process halted for PFAS in groundwater

The DNR announced Tuesday that the process for creating a standard for PFAS in groundwater was abandoned, due to the high cost of implementation of the proposed numbers.

The rule would have cost more than $10 million to implement, which is a violation of the statute known as the REINS Act. An updated estimation of cost by the DNR showed the cost would exceed that number, but did not say by how much.

The groundwater rule had already come under fire from Republicans because of the cost.

Evers Tuesday asked Sens. Rob Cowles, R-Green Bay and Eric Wimberger, R-Green Bay, authors of the sweeping PFAS bill introduced earlier this year to create an exemption to the REINS Act. Evers said in the release that Cowles and Wimberger have discussed with him the repercussions of not passing the groundwater standards, and how it will render parts of the their PFAS bill unworkable.

"As required under law, the DNR will pause rulemaking efforts on this proposed permanent rule until the Wisconsin State Legislature passes legislation explicitly allowing the DNR to continue this rulemaking," he said in the release. "To expedite resuming this important rulemaking process, and consistent with the commitment you made to me to pursue legislation to that effect, my office has drafted legislation in partnership with the DNR for the Wisconsin State Legislature to take up expeditiously. I urge you to do so without delay."

Cowles said that the bill won't be unworkable without groundwater standards during an interview Tuesday afternoon, but said that he would consider taking a look at exempting the standards from the REINS Act. He said the DNR needs to explain how much more implementation will cost and to which of the substances in the PFAS family the rules would apply.

"All this needs to be worked out," he said.

Cowles also expressed dismay at Evers letter, and how it was released. He and Wimberger have met with Evers and the DNR several times regarding their PFAS bill, and there was no mention of action like this, or that the REINS Act would halt the groundwater standards.

"To get a letter today demanding right away that we have instant analysis just did not come up at the meeting we had with the governor just the other day," he said. "I think it's pretty unfair. And it's not the way to act in a collaborative way."

Advocates of the groundwater rule say the extremely high cost of addressing PFAS means that the Legislature shows that the REINS Act can do more harm than good.

“The folly of the REINS Act has become clear when the legislature appropriates $125 million to ‘begin’addressing PFAS contamination but then triggers a ‘cease and desist’ order to DNR because a PFASgroundwater standard might cost more than $10 million,” said Doug Oitzinger, member of advocacy group Save Our h2O and former mayor of Marinette, in a press release.

In a statement, environmental law firm Midwest Environmental Advocates supported Evers' requests.

“We thank Governor Evers and the DNR for their commitment to navigating the arduous rulemakingprocess,” said MEA staff attorney Rob Lee in the release. “The ball is now firmly in the legislature’s court. It’s up to them to decide whether Wisconsinites whose drinking water happens to come from private wells will have thesame kind of public health protections that have been afforded to those who rely on municipal water.”

Sen. Brad Pfaff, D-Onalaska, along with Reps. Jill Billings, D-La Crosse and Steve Doyle, D-Onalaska, also supported the bill.

“Communities across Wisconsin have been living with the reality of unsafe drinking water since PFAS contamination was first discovered in the Marinette area in 2017 and the Town of Campbell in 2019, where many don’t have safe drinking," Billings said in a joint press release. "More and more communities are finding PFAS in their private and public drinking water systems and it’s imperative that state government offers relief."

About PFAS: man-made chemicals used in many products

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a family of man-made chemicals used for their water- and stain-resistant qualities in products like clothing and carpet, nonstick cookware, packaging and firefighting foam.

The family includes 5,000 compounds, which are persistent, remaining both in the environment and human body over time. The chemicals have been linked to types of kidney and testicular cancers, lower birth weights, harm to immune and reproductive systems, altered hormone regulation and altered thyroid hormones.

The chemicals enter the human body largely through drinking water. PFAS have been found across Wisconsin in both surface water and drinking water sources.

Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on X at @SchulteLaura.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Evers asks Legislature to release 'forever chemical' funding