MADISON – Residents in areas with high levels of “forever chemicals” in their private are asking the Department of Natural Resources to consider the human cost of waiting to regulate the chemicals in groundwater.

Several residents from the Peshtigo area in northeastern Wisconsin testified at a DNR hearing about the cost of the proposed regulation to businesses, and asked the department to consider the health risk to those who will continue to drink water containing PFAS.

“The groundwater PFAS problem in our state needs to be addressed now,” Peshtigo resident Jeff Lamont said. “If we miss this window of opportunity, it could leave residential well owners unprotected for several more years.”

Proposed rules would set a groundwater standard of 20 parts per trillion for both PFOA and PFOS, with a preventative action limit of 2 parts per trillion.

It would also set a standard of 450 parts per billion for PFBS and 300 parts per trillion for GenX, with preventative action limits of 90 parts per billion and 30 parts per trillion, respectively.

The preventative action limit would prompt an investigation into the compound in the groundwater source, and possible remedial actions being taken to remove the PFAS.

More:Testing at Rhinelander paper mill leaves Stella residents without answers on PFAS source

The Natural Resources Board, which sets policy for the DNR, gave the agency permission to start the process of creating the new standards last December. That kicked off the three year timeline for creating an administrative rule, requiring various public hearings and approvals along the way.

Residents have kept a close eye on the standard-setting process for PFAS in groundwater because their private wells have been tainted by the chemicals and without a standard they don’t qualify for state aid.

If and when a standard were to go into place, residents would be able to access a well compensation program for funding to either re-drill their well or install a filtration system to remove the chemicals. Some funding is available to those with private wells impacted by PFAS, but it is a limited pot of money provided through federal funding by Gov. Tony Evers.

Nearly one-third of Wisconsinites get their drinking water from a private well, leaving a large swath of residents with water that hasn’t been analyzed for the compounds without doing testing themselves.

Residents in Peshtigo have been asking the state to regulate PFAS in groundwater for six years.

Peshtigo and neighboring Marinette have one of the state’s largest and worst PFAS contaminations, stemming from years of testing firefighting foam outdoors at Tyco Fire Products. The foam, which contains PFAS, was then washed into the grass or nearby storm sewers, spreading the plume of contamination farther.

“My family resides in the town of Peshtigo and has been living with the knowledge of PFAS contamination in our community for six years. Still, unfortunately, with zero regulation,” said Cindy Boyle, of Peshtigo. “I recognize the DNR has criteria you are required to follow, but ask yourself whose interest that set of criteria is designed to prioritize and how severely that limits your scope.”

The hearing Friday afternoon focused in particular on the economic impact of the groundwater rule, if it were to be implemented. Under the state’s process for rule setting, the rule can’t cost affected parties more than $10 million over two years — a requirement that has caused strife in recent years, particularly in regards to PFAS because of the high cost of testing and remediation.

But residents and advocates alike pushed the DNR to acknowledge that cost to businesses aren’t the only costs.

“There has been, is and will be economic impact resulting from PFAS, perhaps more than we can anticipate and we should all stop fooling ourselves into believing other wise,” said Boyle. “But inaction will come at a much higher cost and it’s time we all begin exercising greater vision and wisdom around this harsh reality. To remain short sighted now will result in catastrophic outcomes.”

This isn’t the first attempt by the DNR to regulate PFAS in groundwater.

After the measure failed to gain support from the NRB early last year, the DNR was forced to abandon it. 

The measure failed to pass the board due to a disagreement over what number should be set for the allowable amount of PFAS in groundwater. The department proposed 20 parts per trillion, but members of the board and industry lobbyists said that number was too low and pushed instead for a limit of 70 parts per trillion.

More:‘Forever chemical’ bill clears committee, but worries over limits to DNR authority persist

In the end, the rule was not approved by the members of the NRB, which did approve standards for drinking and surface water rules that went into effect last summer.

This year, the Environmental Protection Agency also released a draft of its proposed federal regulations for PFOA and PFOS — two of the most well-known and researched compounds in the PFAS family — at 4 parts per trillion for each. The standard is not legally enforceable until it is approved by Congress, though, and likely still faces an uphill battle.

The federal government does not regulate groundwater, meaning that residents in areas like Peshtigo, the Town of Stella and the Town of Campbell must wait for the standards to be put into state law.

“Decisions need to be made with weight considering the cost to human health, our future in Wisconsin and the true cost of inaction,” said Kayla Furton of Peshtigo. “So do please take every step needed to follow the proper regulatory procedures, but do not lose sight of the citizens and the environment. That is really what will benefit the true economic future of Wisconsin.”

More:‘It’s been radio silence’: Stella has some of the highest PFAS levels on record. Its residents are waiting for answers

About PFAS

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a family of man-made chemicals used for their water- and stain-resistant qualities in products like clothing and carpet, nonstick cookware, packaging and firefighting foam.

The family includes 5,000 compounds, which are persistent, remaining both in the environment and human body over time.  The chemicals have been linked to types of kidney and testicular cancers, lower birth weights, harm to immune and reproductive systems, altered hormone regulation and altered thyroid hormones.

The chemicals enter the human body largely through drinking water. PFAS have been found across Wisconsin.

Laura Schulte can be reached at [email protected] and on X at @SchulteLaura.