Gov. Evers, DNR Celebrate Release of $10 Million to Clean Up PFAS, Ensure Affected Communities Have Access to Safe Drinking Water

“Since Day One, my administration and I have been working to fight these forever chemicals that jeopardize the health and well-being of our kids and families, farmers and producers, and livestock and crops all over the state, and I’m glad that these critical investments will be getting out the door to to get PFAS out of our water for good and ensure every Wisconsinite has access to clean, safe drinking water,” said Gov. Evers. “This is a big step in the right direction, and the DNR will continue to collaborate with local leaders and communities to ensure we get these funds out the door and to the impacted communities to address their most urgent needs in a timely fashion.”

Gov. Evers has spent much of his time in office leading the state’s fight against “forever chemicals” like PFAS. Under his leadership, the Evers Administration has aggressively pursued PFAS polluters for contaminating Wisconsinites’ water and natural resources across the state, including filing several lawsuits aimed at preventing taxpayers from footing the bill to clean up widespread contamination and to hold polluters financially responsible for the costs instead. During the governor’s first term in office, the Evers Administration referred Tyco for charges for failing to report, investigate, and remediate PFAS discharge at and around the Tyco Fire Technology Center in Marinette, alleging the company violated the state’s hazardous substance Spills Law.

Following the court’s approval of the settlement in June, the DNR offered listening sessions and other opportunities for the impacted community to provide input on how they would like the funds to be used, with consideration that any funded activities will be complementary to the actions that Tyco is required to take through the settlement. Based on the community’s input, a top priority will be to use the funds to provide safe drinking water to residents with private wells affected by PFAS in and around the Expanded Site Investigation Area (ESIA). The funds will be used to support testing of private wells for PFAS, installing water treatment and/or a new private well for wells impacted by PFAS, and paying for long-term care for treatment systems, as funding allows.

“We appreciate the Joint Committee on Finance’s fast bipartisan action to release the funds Tyco paid into the PFAS Trust Fund as part of a settlement with the state,” said DNR Secretary Karen Hyun. “The DNR plans to use these funds in line with priorities identified by the community during public input opportunities. A top priority identified by community members was to provide safe drinking water to residents with private wells impacted by PFAS in and around the Expanded Site Investigation Area. The activities will be complementary to the actions that Tyco is required to take through the settlement.”

Now that the funding has been released, the DNR will continue to keep the community informed throughout this process and will consult with the community on the best uses of the funds. Updates will be shared through the PFAS Contamination in Marinette and Peshtigo Area subscription list as well as on the DNR’s website.

In addition to the $10 million settlement payment deposited into the PFAS Trust Fund to help clean up future PFAS contamination—one of the largest settlements stemming from a DNR referral in state history—Tyco must provide clean drinking water for certain Marinette-area residents and must address PFAS discharges from Tyco’s FTC. The agreement also requires Tyco to continue providing for replacement wells within a defined area, conducting monitoring and reporting for PFAS contamination, and continuing to implement measures toward long-term remediation of the area.

Importantly, the settlement announcement is the result of one lawsuit, with more lawsuits pending against polluters. The lawsuit settlement announced in June, for example, does not impact a massive, separate lawsuit that was also filed during Gov. Evers’ first term in 2022 against Tyco, Chemguard, 3M, DuPont, and several other defendants for allegedly wrongfully, knowingly, and deceptively contaminating natural resources with PFAS across Wisconsin, which remains active and ongoing.

Gov. Evers earlier this year enacted the state’s first-ever comprehensive PFAS bill, which will provide over $125 million to help address PFAS contamination and ensure Wisconsinites in communities across the state will have access to clean water.

Gov. Evers spent years working across the aisle with Republican lawmakers to negotiate and usher two bipartisan bills, Assembly Bill 130, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 200, and Assembly Bill 131, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 201, which, together, facilitate the release of the $125 million in stalled PFAS investments that had sat unspent in Madison since the signing of the 2023-25 Biennial Budget in July 2023. With the addition of the requested settlement funds announced today, the Evers Administration remains committed to supporting communities in PFAS mitigation and ensuring clean, safe drinking water for all.