Wisconsin appeals court says regulators must develop PFAS restrictions before mandating clean-up
10 months ago

Wisconsin appeals court says regulators must develop PFAS restrictions before mandating clean-up

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Environmental regulators can’t unilaterally force polluters to clean up contamination from so-called forever chemicals without going through the Legislature to establish specific limits on the compounds, a state appellate court ruled Wednesday. The 2nd District Court of Appeals’ decision all but eliminates the Department of Natural Resources’ authority to unilaterally mandate reporting PFAS contamination in groundwater and force responsible parties to clean it up. “This decision would dramatically weaken our ability to protect Wisconsinites from PFAS and other emerging contaminants.” PFAS, the abbreviation for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are man-made chemicals that don’t easily break down in nature. Leather Rich was working on clean-up with DNR oversight in early 2019 when the agency posted a message online saying that it now considered PFAS chemicals a hazardous substance under the Spills Law.

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History of this topic

Wisconsin lawmakers OK bill to tackle forever chemicals pollution, but governor isn’t on board
10 months, 2 weeks ago

Wisconsin lawmakers OK bill to tackle forever chemicals pollution, but governor isn’t on board

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin state Assembly passed a bill Thursday that would unlock $125 million to help municipalities and landowners cope with pollution from so-called forever chemicals. Eric Wimberger and Rob Cowles and Rep. Jeffrey Mursau, have said the dollars would come out of a $125 million PFAS trust fund established in the current state budget. But Evers has …

Wisconsin Senate signs off on bill to spend tens of millions on PFAS pollution
1 year, 1 month ago

Wisconsin Senate signs off on bill to spend tens of millions on PFAS pollution

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin municipalities and landowners could apply for tens of millions of dollars in state grants to combat PFAS pollution under a bill the state Senate approved Tuesday. Tony Evers, but the governor has said he doesn’t support the bill because it would limit the state Department of Natural Resources’ ability to order landowners to clean up contamination. …

Wisconsin committee sets up Republican-authored PFAS bill for Senate vote
1 year, 2 months ago

Wisconsin committee sets up Republican-authored PFAS bill for Senate vote

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Republicans moved closer Wednesday to a Senate floor vote on a bill that would spend tens of millions of dollars to address pollution from PFAS chemicals. The measure looks doomed, though, after Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback said in a email to The Associated Press that “Republicans still don’t share our commitment to finding real, meaningful solutions …

Republican lawmakers propose plan to combat PFAS pollution in Wisconsin
1 year, 7 months ago

Republican lawmakers propose plan to combat PFAS pollution in Wisconsin

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Republican legislators have proposed a sweeping new plan to address PFAS pollution that would create grants for local governments, limit regulators’ ability to delay projects on polluted property and mandate studies on how to treat contaminated water. “The bill is a strong starting point,” Rep. Jeff Mursau, the bill’s chief Assembly sponsor, said Monday during a public …

Wisconsin regulators move ahead with groundwater PFAS rules
2 years ago

Wisconsin regulators move ahead with groundwater PFAS rules

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s natural resources board on Wednesday voted unanimously to proceed with regulating so-called forever chemicals in the state’s groundwater, 10 months after a plan was scrapped under pressure from the state’s powerful business industry. The vote to move ahead with developing limits on four types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, more commonly known as PFAS chemicals, came …

Wisconsin Republicans allow PFAS standards to take effect
2 years, 6 months ago

Wisconsin Republicans allow PFAS standards to take effect

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Republicans will allow regulations Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administration developed to control pollution from a group of chemicals known as PFAS to take effect, a spokesman for the lawmaker who controls the Legislature’s rules committee said Monday. “While we are glad to see these rules move forward, we are mindful that Wisconsinites whose water comes from …

Board adopts PFAS standards for drinking, surface waters
2 years, 10 months ago

Board adopts PFAS standards for drinking, surface waters

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — The Department of Natural Resources policy board adopted Wisconsin’s first limits on so-called “forever chemicals” in drinking and surface water Wednesday, handing Democratic Gov. Evers has been pushing to curtail PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, pollution since he took office in 2019, going so far as to declare his first year in office “the year of …

Wisconsin lawmakers take aim at potentially toxic chemicals
5 years, 7 months ago

Wisconsin lawmakers take aim at potentially toxic chemicals

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Some Wisconsin legislators are pushing to curtail the use of firefighting foams that contain potentially toxic chemicals and establish standards that limit how much of the substances can safely exist in the state’s groundwater, air and soil. “This bill strikes a balance in reducing the risks to human health and negative environmental footprint PFAS chemicals pose, while …

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