Gov. Tony Evers has signed into law a bipartisan compromise to combat PFAS contamination, capping a yearslong standoff with the Legislature and opening the door for new aid for Wisconsinites tackling the “forever chemicals.”

Evers and lawmakers have been working toward a compromise on PFAS since the Legislature first set aside $125 million in the 2023-25 budget in a “PFAS trust fund.” Last session, Evers vetoed a GOP proposal over concerns it wouldn’t hold polluters accountable. 

Since then, the pot of money has grown to $133 million due to interest that accumulated as it sat unused.

At yesterday’s state Capitol bill signing, Evers thanked DNR Secretary Karen Hyun and DNR staff for their “extraordinary persistence” and bill co-authors Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Gillett, and Rep. Jeff Mursau, R-Crivitz, for “their willingness to work in good faith.” Hyun, Wimberger and Mursau all attended the bill signing. 

“Don’t let anybody think that doing something in a bipartisan way is weak and not worth the effort. It is worth the effort, we’re talking about people’s lives here,” Evers said after signing the bills. 

The guv and lawmakers had clashed over protections for “innocent landowners,” those who didn’t create the pollution but have the contamination on their property, and DNR authority to address contamination before reaching a deal. 

The package signed into law includes protections to ensure farmers, landowners, certain business owners and fire departments aren’t held responsible for contamination they didn’t cause.

Wimberger in a statement hailed the bills’ signing. 

“At the heart of our reforms is an idea: the State should not treat landowners who discover PFAS contamination on their property like polluters. Through meetings and negotiations, that idea transformed into real policy that will protect innocent victims of PFAS across Wisconsin from unfair state action,” Wimberger said. 

Some of the provisions in the package, Wisconsin Act 200 and 201, according to Evers’ office include:

  • About $80 million for a community grant program to help local governments combat and remediate PFAS contamination; 
  • $5.25 million for a grant program to help public airports and certain businesses fight PFAS contamination; 
  • $35 million for an expansion of the Well Compensation Grant program to help protect private well owners’ drinking water from contamination; and 
  • 10 new DNR positions and $1.3 million for the agency, including: $118,900 for program operations related to conservation, the Lower Wisconsin Riverway, state fishery resources management and the trapper education program; $929,900 for management and protection of state water resources and environmental quality and management; and $261,600 for communications, customer services, aids administration, watershed management and environmental analysis and sustainability. 

The package also allocates funding to provide emergency bottled water for private well owners and for PFAS-related research and sampling.