Governor Evers Signals No Support for Republican PFAS Bill

Friday, February 23rd, 2024 -- 8:01 AM

(AP) Democratic Gov. Tony Evers signaled Wednesday that he has no intention of signing a Republican bill that would spend tens of millions of dollars to address pollution from the so-called forever chemicals known as PFAS because it dramatically scales back regulators’ enforcement authority.

The Senate passed the bill in November and the Assembly was expected to follow suit on Thursday and send the legislation to the governor. Time is running out for any sort of compromise. Thursday is the Assembly’s last scheduled floor period of the two-year legislative session.

PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are man-made chemicals that don’t easily break down in nature. They are found in a wide range of products, including cookware and stain-resistant clothing, and previously were often used in aviation fire-suppression foam.

The chemicals have been linked to health problems including low birth weight, cancer and liver disease, and have been shown to make vaccines less effective. Municipalities across Wisconsin are struggling with PFAS contamination in groundwater, including Marinette, Madison, Wausau and the town of Campbell on French Island.

The waters of Green Bay also are contaminated. The bill would create grants for cities, towns, villages, private landowners and waste disposal facilities to test for PFAS in water treatment plans and wells. The grants would be funded with the $125 million in the state budget.

The state Department of Natural Resources, an Evers cabinet agency, would need landowners’ permission to test their water for PFAS. The agency would be responsible for remediation at contaminated sites where the responsible party is unknown or can’t pay for the work.

The DNR also would be prohibited from taking any enforcement action against landowners who spread PFAS in compliance with a license or permit to do so or own land contaminated through legal manure spreading.

Landowners who allow the DNR to remediate contaminated property at the state’s expense would be immune from enforcement action. Evers balked at the DNR restrictions when the bill was introduced last year.

The bill’s chief Senate sponsors, Eric Wimberger and Rob Cowles, asked Evers in a Feb. 15 letter not to let a chance to address PFAS slip away. They said that the DNR restrictions are designed to ensure the agency can’t fine or hold landowners liable for contamination that they didn’t cause.

The bill doesn’t protect actual polluters, they stressed.

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