After Years of Delay, WI Legislature Passes Bills Addressing PFAS

Water stored in a closet near Margie Walker and Jim Boisen’s kitchen in their French Island home Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. Angela Major/WPR

The Wisconsin Senate passed two bills that set the framework for spending $133 million to address PFAS contamination and protect so-called innocent landowners.

They now head to Gov. Tony Evers for his signature. For years, Evers has been at odds with Republicans over addressing PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

“While I wish it wouldn’t have taken nearly as long for the Legislature to join me in this important work, I’m thrilled that these bills will soon be on the way to my desk so that we can get these critical and long-overdue investments out the door to the folks and families who need them,” Evers said in a statement.

The proposals reflect a bipartisan deal between Evers, state regulators and Republicans. State Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Gillett, and Rep. Jeff Mursau, R-Crivitz, authored the bills.

Senators unanimously passed a bill to exempt certain individuals and entities under the state’s spills law from paying to clean up PFAS contamination they didn’t cause. The spills law requires anyone who causes, possesses or controls a hazardous substance to clean it up. Another bill that creates grant programs to address PFAS contamination passed on a voice vote.

On the Senate floor, Wimberger said the bills mark a rare bipartisan agreement on a controversial issue affecting almost every Wisconsinite.

“The result is a bill that helps people who need to be helped and stops the government from going after people who are genuinely innocent of causing a hazardous discharge,” Wimberger said.

Sen. Jodi Habush Sinykin, D-Whitefish Bay, said the package unlocks funds set aside in a PFAS trust fund under the last state budget that have sat untouched for more than two years.

“We know that there is still much more work to needs to be done to address PFAs contamination across Wisconsin, but today is an important and meaningful step forward,” Habush-Sinykin said. “Communities that have been living with this uncertainty and health concerns will finally be able to see real support and real progress.”

The bills include protections for innocent landowners, funding for emergency bottled water, around $80 million in grants for local governments and $35 million for a grant program to replace or rebuild contaminated wells.

Under the deal, farmers and residents would not be responsible for cleaning up the chemicals if PFAS-contaminated sludge was spread on their land. The same is true for commercial businesses. Fire departments and communities that used firefighting foam containing the chemicals during training or emergencies would also be exempt, as would municipal landfills and waste haulers that disposed of PFAS-contaminated waste.

Industrial, commercial and manufacturing facilities that used PFAS in their operations would not be considered innocent landowners. Nor would airports, though a $5.25 million grant program is being created to assist public airports.

Changes to exemptions had drawn pushback from Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce and others. The state’s largest business lobby said the changes unfairly target businesses and could face legal challenges. Environmental and citizens groups like Save Our Water supported the changes, saying work remains for those who rely on private wells. “S.O.H2O will continue to push forward to achieve a meaningful groundwater standard for PFAS,” said Jeff Lamont, the group’s chairman.

Last year, Evers vetoed a similar GOP bill over fears it would let polluters off the hook and limit the authority of the state Department of Natural Resources.

PFAS include thousands of synthetic chemicals used in everyday products since the 1940s. High exposure to PFAS has been linked to serious health issues. The chemicals don’t break down easily in the environment.

The legislative package includes 10 new positions to allow the DNR to administer new grant programs. The agency would be required to submit a report to the Legislature on its progress implementing those programs every six months over the next three years.

The DNR and Universities of Wisconsin have also been directed to conduct studies on the cost and effectiveness of methods to treat and dispose of PFAS, as well as sewage sludge.

Under a community grant program, local governments could obtain funds to conduct PFAS sampling of public and private water supplies, schools, child care centers, high capacity wells, wastewater and sewage sludge. Nearly 100 public water systems in Wisconsin have PFAS levels above federal drinking water standards enacted last year. The chemicals have been found in public water systems in the cities of Eau Claire, Wausau, Madison and La Crosse. They’ve also been found in private wells in the towns of Peshtigo, Campbell and Stella.

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After years of gridlock, Wisconsin Senate passes bills addressing PFAS was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.