The state of Wisconsin is rolling out money to help municipalities and private well owners test for PFAS.
Mimi Johnson heads DNR's Office of Emerging Contaminants.
"In April, when Gov. Evers signed Acts 200 and 201 into law, DNR was granted access to approximately $133 million in the PFAS Trust Fund. These funds will be utilized in a variety of programs required by the law to better understand the presence of PFAS throughout Wisconsin and to take action to disrupt exposure," Johnson says.
Limiting people’s exposure to PFAS is critical, because the forever chemicals carry significant health risks.
Jim Ritchie with the Bureau of Community Financial Assistance says an initial $2 million will be funneled into community grants.
"[That] includes counties, cities, villages or towns, tribal governing bodies, utility or sewage districts. There is a lot of funding so municipalities have time to develop their sampling plan and submit an application," Ritchie says.
A separate, more streamlined program works with private well owners.
Ritchie says if an owner is deemed eligible, "The state lab of hygiene will ship a collection kit to the residents. The well owner, or user, will collect the water sample and ship it back to the state lab of hygiene," he says.
What if PFAS contamination is detected?
"Municipalities that find PFAS contamination in public water systems may be able to apply for funding through existing DNR programs to install treatment systems or construct new wells," he says.
To help private well owners, $35 million of trust fund dollars will go into an existing program called the Well Compensation Grant Program.
"So more households and businesses will be eligible for funding to address PFAS in their drinking water," Ritchie says. He adds that could mean replacing, reconstructing or treating private wells.
News doesn’t end there.
This week the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board voted to adopt groundwater standards for PFAS.
The standards will head to Gov. Evers and the state Legislature for review.
Advocacy group Clean Wisconsin wants the state to go further, calling for a ban on non-essential uses of PFAS, as well as investigation of the forever chemical in pesticides and fertilizers.
