PFAS Update: Status of the $125M in “PFAS Trust Fund”
WI Green Fire, June 12, 2024
PFAS Update: Status of the $125M in “PFAS Trust Fund”
At Wisconsin’s Green Fire, our Contaminants of Emerging Concern Work Group continues working to advance a science-based approach for managing PFAS in Wisconsin waters, soils, and communities. In this blog post, we’re summarizing some of the recent state-level matters on funding for communities to treat PFAS in drinking water.
As a reminder, PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a group of chemical compounds famous for their non-stick and firefighting properties but infamous for their negative environmental and human health impacts. As of April 2024, over 90 Wisconsin public drinking water systems have exceedances of new federal standards for PFAS.
Read more about PFAS in Wisconsin in Wisconsin’s Green Fire publications:
$125 million in the “PFAS Trust Fund”
Almost a year ago, the Wisconsin Legislature passed the 2023-2025 State Budget and the Governor signed it into law. This budget included $125 million in PFAS funding in a “PFAS Trust Fund” in the Joint Finance Committee (JCF). The money was to be given to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as soon as the agency supplied the JCF with a plan to spend it. To date, DNR has submitted two requests to JCF for the transfer of those funds.
Over time, there have been competing opinions about whether the JCF could release the $125 Million that the whole Legislature had set aside specifically for PFAS. On May 28, 2024, the Legislative Council (the Legislature’s professional, non-partisan staff) produced a memo that clearly stated that the JCF could release the $125 million. The JCF has not released the funds.
Failed Legislation on PFAS (Senate Bill 312 & Assembly Bill 312)
The Legislature introduced identical bills in the Senate and Assembly regulating PFAS. Senate Bill 312 and Assembly Bill 312 were this session’s attempts to pass a law on PFAS. Senate Bill 312 passed. However, this time the bill failed to be signed into law because it contained a “poison pill” that would have limited powers to hold polluters accountable.
So, the Governor vetoed the bill. Along with other conservation organizations, Wisconsin’s Green Fire had urged the Governor to veto. Under SB 312, as long as a polluter allows the DNR to clean up the contamination using Wisconsin taxpayer dollars, the DNR could not take enforcement action against them.
As clarified by the Legislative Council, the JCF could make the money in the “PFAS Trust Fund” available to Wisconsin communities without a bill like SB 312.
What does the $125M means for Wisconsin communities?
The $125 million in funding was deliberated, negotiated, and approved through the 2023-25 biennial budget process as enacted by Gov. Evers in July 2023 but has since been obstructed by Republicans in the Wisconsin State Legislature. This money would cover all of the remaining costs of the initial $208 million in PFAS expenses estimated to be needed to purchase the equipment to capture the PFAS in Wisconsin’s drinking water, since $92 million has already been spent. It means the communities with PFAS polluted water that do not have the necessary clean-up dollars could soon begin removing the PFAS from their water.