PFAS Advisory Sign, January 4, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
(WTAQ-WLUK) — Governor Tony Evers signed bipartisan bills to unlock more than $125 million to fight PFAS contamination statewide.
The governor signed Assembly Bill 130, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 200, and Assembly Bill 131, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 201, into law Monday.
“It’s not a pipe dream to think that Wisconsinites should be able to trust the water coming out of their tap, and I’ve always believed we could work across the aisle to get good things done to improve water quality across Wisconsin. Today, after seven years, I’m incredibly proud to be delivering on our promise to get something done on PFAS for communities across our state. It’s been a long time coming,” said Gov. Evers. “Since Day One, my administration has has been working to fight PFAS—one of the very first things I did as governor was declare 2019 the Year of Clean Drinking Water and create our PFAS Action Council. We know that whether it’s kids in the classroom, families at home, or our farmers and agricultural industries, Wisconsinites’ health and well-being depend on access to clean, safe water.
The bills allocate about $80 million from the PFAS Trust Fund to a community grant program to assist local governments in combating and remediating PFAS contamination in their communities. Eligible activities include:
- Sampling private wells;
- Installing PFAS treatment at a public water system;
- Creating a new public water system or connecting private well owners to a public water system in areas where there is PFAS contamination in the private water supply;
- Sampling drinking water for PFAS in schools and child care centers;
- Sampling for PFAS in high-capacity irrigation wells and soil on farmland;
- Sampling for PFAS in biosolids and wastewater before it is spread on farmland;
- Sampling for PFAS in groundwater and private water wells that are part of a monitoring plan at public solid waste landfills;
- Investigating PFAS contamination to determine the most appropriate remedy; and
- Conducting immediate and interim actions to mitigate, treat, or dispose of PFAS contamination in air, land, waters, or other natural resources in the state.
Also included is a dedicated grant program of $5.25 million to assist public airports and certain businesses with tackling PFAS contamination. Eligible remedial actions for this grant program include actions taken to control or minimize the discharge of PFAS from the site, as well as restoration activities to ensure the site no longer poses a threat to human health.
The bills provide $35 million for an expanded Well Compensation Grant Program to assist homeowners and businesses with private wells to ensure their drinking water is safe from PFAS.
The bills also allocate funding for the provision of emergency bottled water for private well owners when PFAS contamination in drinking water is discovered, additional research activities related to PFAS, and support for the State Lab of Hygiene and other labs to assist in evaluating samples for PFAS.
The bills also create 10 new positions and appropriate $1.3 million from the general fund to existing DNR appropriations for the following purposes:
- $118,900 for general program operations relating to conservation, the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway, and management of the state’s fishery resources and the trapper education program;
- $929,900 for the management and protection of the state’s water resources and for environmental quality and environmental management purposes; and
- $261,600 for communications, customer services, aids administration, watershed management, and environmental analysis and sustainability.
Assembly Bill 130, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 200:
- Appropriates funding from the PFAS trust fund and the general fund to support activities related to PFAS remediation and testing.
Assembly Bill 131, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 201:
- Creates several new programs and requirements relating to per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
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