June 9, 2023 - Introduced by Representatives Mursau, Swearingen, Behnke, Binsfeld, Dittrich, Donovan, Green, Kitchens, Moses, O’Connor, Snyder, Spiros, Steffen, Summerfield, Wittke and Goeben, cosponsored by Senators Wimberger, Cowles, Ballweg, Cabral-Guevara, Felzkowski, Feyen, Nass and Quinn. Referred to Committee on Environment.

AB312,,22An Act to renumber 281.58 (8e); to amend 281.61 (6) and 281.75 (7) (c) 2. a.; and to create 66.0224, 66.0811 (4), 196.03 (7), 196.49 (7), 281.58 (8e) (bm), 292.315 and 292.32 of the statutes; relating to: programs and requirements to address perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

This bill creates several new programs and requirements relating to PFAS, which is defined in the bill to mean perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), and any other perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance for which a standard has been promulgated under state or federal law.

The bill requires the Department of Natural Resources to create a municipal PFAS grant program to provide all of the following grants:

1. Grants to municipalities (defined under current law as a city, town, village, county, county utility district, town sanitary district, public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district, or metropolitan sewage district), distributed in equal shares, for PFAS testing at municipal water systems and municipal wastewater treatment facilities, or for reimbursement for such testing.

2. Grants to nonmunicipal entities regulated as public water systems, distributed in equal shares up to $1,800, to test their drinking water supply for PFAS, if required to do so by DNR, or for reimbursement for such testing.

3. Grants to municipalities to test for PFAS levels at municipally owned or managed locations where PFAS may be present. These grants are not available to municipalities that receive a grant under this program to test for PFAS at municipal water systems and municipal wastewater treatment facilities. These grants require matching funds of up to 20 percent from the applicant.

4. Grants to municipalities to dispose of PFAS-containing biosolids at facilities that accept such biosolids. These grants require matching funds of up to 20 percent from the applicant.

5. Grants for capital costs or debt service, including for facility upgrades or new infrastructure, to municipalities that are small or disadvantaged or in which rates for water or wastewater utilities will increase by more than 20 percent as a direct result of steps taken to address PFAS contamination.

6. Grants to municipalities for capital costs or other costs related to PFAS that are not otherwise paid from the segregated environmental improvement fund, including costs for addressing applicant-owned contaminated lands or costs incurred by fire departments. These grants require matching funds of up to 20 percent from the applicant.

For all of the grants provided under the municipal PFAS grant program, DNR may not require a grant recipient to take any action to address PFAS unless PFAS levels exceed any existing standard under state or federal law or unless state or federal law otherwise allows DNR to require the grant recipient to take action. The bill also prohibits DNR from publicly disclosing the results of any PFAS testing conducted under this grant program unless DNR notifies the grant recipient at least 72 hours before publicly disclosing any test result.

The bill also requires DNR to provide grants to persons that own property with PFAS contamination that is not known to be the responsibility of the person. The total amount of grants awarded may not exceed $250,000 and DNR may require grant recipients to provide matching funds of not more than 20 percent of the grant amount.

Under the bill, DNR may not require the owner of a brownfield property to test for PFAS unless DNR has information that the property previously had a substantial amount of uncontained PFAS. “Brownfield property” is defined to mean abandoned, idle, or underused industrial or commercial facilities or sites, the expansion or redevelopment of which is adversely affected by actual or perceived environmental contamination.

Under the bill, DNR may not prevent, delay, or otherwise impede any development project or project of public works based on a presence of PFAS contamination unless DNR determines that 1) the project poses a measurable risk to public health or welfare, 2) there is a substantial risk that the project would lead to worsening environmental conditions, or 3) the entity proposing to complete the project is, as a result of negligence, responsible for the original contamination. “Public works” is defined to mean the physical structures and facilities developed or acquired by a local unit of government or a federally recognized American Indian tribe or band in this state to provide services and functions for the benefit and use of the public, including water, sewerage, waste disposal, utilities, and transportation.

In addition, under the bill, when testing for PFAS, DNR may not collect samples from lands not owned by the state without written permission from the landowner to collect samples, to test those samples, and to publicly disclose the results of that testing. DNR also may not publicly disclose such PFAS testing results unless it notifies the landowner of the test results at least 72 hours before publicly disclosing them. In addition, DNR may not take any enforcement action against a landowner based on the results of any PFAS testing conducted on samples taken from lands not owned by the state unless PFAS levels exceed any applicable limit under state or federal law or another applicable state or federal law requires DNR to take enforcement action. In addition, DNR must respond to requests from any person to conduct PFAS testing on samples taken from the person’s property if funds are available to do so, if there is a reasonable belief that PFAS contamination may be present on the property, and if existing information such as public water supply testing data is not available.

The bill also requires DNR, in the 2023-25 fiscal biennium, to increase its PFAS testing activities.

The bill requires DNR to survey or resurvey local fire departments about their use and possession of PFAS-containing fire fighting foam, send communications and information, and contract with a third party to collect PFAS-containing firefighting foam.

Under current law, an individual owner or renter of a contaminated private well, subject to eligibility requirements, may apply for a grant from DNR to cover a portion of the costs to treat the water, reconstruct the well, construct a new well, connect to a public water supply, or fill and seal the well. The bill provides that a grant for costs to treat the water may be used to cover the cost of a filtration device and up to two replacement filters.