Governor Evers Proposing to Bring State's Drinking Water Standards for PFAS in Line With Federal Regulations

Thursday, August 29th, 2024 -- 10:01 AM

(Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio) Gov. Tony Evers announced Monday that his administration is proposing to bring the state’s drinking water standards for PFAS in line with new federal regulations unveiled earlier this year.

According to Danielle Kaeding with Wisconsin Public Radio, in April, the Environmental Protection Agency set individual limits for two of the most widely studied PFAS chemicals, PFOA and PFOS, at 4 parts per trillion.

The agency set levels for three other PFAS, including GenX chemicals, at 10 parts per trillion. It also set levels for a mix of two or more of the following PFAS: PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS, and “GenX Chemicals. Wisconsin doesn’t currently have standards for those compounds.

Under the change, the Department of Natural Resources anticipates around 90 public water systems would need to treat their water or drill a new well to meet the federal regulations.

The federal standards for PFOA and PFOS are roughly 17 times more stringent than Wisconsin’s drinking water standard of 70 parts per trillion for the two chemicals. Evers urged the Natural Resources Board to take up the changes as soon as possible.

The DNR will ask the board to approve a preliminary public hearing on the scope of the proposed changes at its September meeting, according to Steve Elmore, the agency’s program director for the Drinking Water and Groundwater Bureau.

The new federal regulations require water systems to test for PFAS by 2027, but Elmore noted Wisconsin has already completed sampling of roughly 2,000 public water supplies. Around 95 percent have PFAS levels below the federal limits.

He added that the agency is already working with the 90 systems that exceeded the federal standards.

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