PFAS

DNR WisPAC Website

In accordance with Executive Order 40 (August 2019), Wisconsin DNR and other state agencies convened the Wisconsin PFAS Action Council (WisPAC). The executive order directed the council to develop an action plan. A draft plan was released for public comment in September 2020.

On December 16, 2020, Governor Evers announced that WisPAC had released the statewide PFAS Action Plan. The plan includes 25 action items, organized into eight themes: Standard Setting, Sampling, Pollution Prevention, Engagement, Education and Communication, Research and Knowledge, Phase Out, Future Investments, and Identify and Address Historic Discharges.

On January 22, 2021, Governor Evers announced that his administration will solicit bids from law firms to find a legal team to litigate against companies responsible for discharging PFAS compounds in Wisconsin. This follows from the PFAS Action Plan recommendation to “take appropriate legal actions against companies responsible for PFAS discharges.”

DNR website regarding PFAS in Marinette and Peshtigo

As we reported here, in January 2021, three companies settled a $17.5 million lawsuit with Peshtigo residents concerning PFAS contamination in the area. The PFAS contamination came from firefighting foam developed and tested at the Fire Technology Center and nearby sites in the Peshtigo/Marinette area. Tyco has committed to remediating the contamination and paying for a new water line to provide clean drinking water to area residents. In May 2020, it was reported that sampling at 247 out of 269 wells in and around Peshtigo had PFAS levels below the recommended federal health standard (70 ppt), while 38 wells had PFAS levels above the state’s recommended groundwater standard (20 ppt).

City of La Crosse website regarding PFAS near the La Crosse Regional Airport

According to the City of La Crosse, PFAS compounds were “detected in two City of La Crosse municipal wells and groundwater samples near the La Crosse Regional Airport. The levels of PFAS detected are a result of the utilization of firefighting foam” on French Island, which lies just west of La Crosse and contains both the La Crosse Regional Airport and the adjacent Town of Campbell. Subsequent testing at private wells in the surrounding area found more than 100 private wells with elevated levels of PFAS.

On February 9, an attorney representing a group of 125 Campbell residents served the City of La Crosse with a lawsuit over the PFAS contamination in private wells. On February 11, the La Crosse Common Council voted to hire attorneys to litigate against chemical companies that manufactured the PFAS chemicals used at the airport.