MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), submitted a new proposal this month to amend the state’s current drinking water standards to reflect the new federal standards for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contaminants. A copy of the scope statement outlining the proposed change is available here. This comes as Gov. Evers proclaimed August as Water Quality Month. A copy of the governor’s Water Quality Month proclamation is available here. “Every Wisconsinite deserves access to clean, safe water that is free of lead, PFAS, and other harmful contaminants that are affecting our kids, families, and communities across our state,” said Gov. Evers. “With each day of delay in setting basic standards and getting meaningful investments out the door to protect our natural resources and get contaminants out of our water, the more costly these efforts will become. I urge the NRB to take up this change to bring us in line with federal regulation of these harmful chemicals as soon as possible as we continue working to ensure that every Wisconsinite has access to clean, safe drinking water straight from the tap, whether that water is coming from a municipal water system or a private well.” The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently set five new federal standards for drinking water, also known as Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs), for PFAS contamination. The federal Safe Drinking Water Act requires Wisconsin to implement the federal PFAS MCL standards into state regulations in order to retain primary enforcement authority over the state’s public water systems. To begin the rulemaking process, the governor and DNR submitted a scope statement this month to amend the current drinking water standards to reflect the new federal MCLs for PFOA and PFOS and include water standards for three new PFAS compounds for which Wisconsin does not currently have standards. Wisconsin currently does not have critical groundwater standards largely due to persistent obstruction by Republican lawmakers. In late 2020, the Natural Resources Board (NRB) approved a scope statement for the DNR to begin work on developing water quality criteria for PFAS. In 2022, after years of development by the DNR and advocacy by the governor and other clean water advocates, the NRB approved the first-ever enforceable water standards for surface and drinking water for two common PFAS compounds, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), which became effective in August 2022. Unfortunately, Republicans on the NRB at the time blocked similar standards for groundwater, so the governor instructed the DNR to immediately restart work to again repropose and repromulgate these needed groundwater standards to ensure families who rely on private wells for their water would be better protected. Despite their work and the proven need for these protections, this rulemaking is currently stalled due to the Wisconsin State Legislature refusing to pass necessary legislation to enable the DNR to complete the rulemaking process.
