AB843,1,7 1An Act to amend 292.31 (1) (d) (intro.); and to create 25.17 (1) (kt), 25.46 (1)
2(eb), 25.461, 36.50, 160.07 (7), 254.25, 281.15 (7), 281.17 (8) (c), 285.27 (2) (bm),
3292.31 (1) (d) 1m., 292.66, 292.74 and 299.15 (2m) of the statutes; relating to:
4PFAS standards and grant programs, providing blood testing for certain
5individuals, requiring a cancer cluster study, extending the time limit for
6emergency rule procedures, providing an exemption from emergency rule
7procedures, and granting rule-making authority.

This bill requires the Department of Natural Resources to establish and enforce
various standards for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The
PFAS group of substances includes several thousand chemicals; two of the most well
known are perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS).

Under current law, the Department of Health Services recommends
groundwater enforcement standards for substances that have a reasonable
probability of entering the groundwater resources of the state and that are shown to
involve public health concerns, which DNR then proposes as DNR rules in its
rule-making process. This bill requires DNR to create emergency rules establishing
groundwater standards for PFOA and PFOS, as well as any other PFAS for which
DHS submits a recommended groundwater enforcement standard.

In addition, the bill requires DNR to establish surface water quality standards
and maximum contaminant level drinking water standards for any PFAS for which
DHS has submitted a recommended groundwater enforcement standard. DNR must
also establish air emission standards for any known PFAS to provide adequate
protection for public health and welfare, taking into account energy, economic, and
environmental impacts and other costs related to the emission source. The bill also
requires DNR to consider all PFAS to be air contaminants and to require reporting
of any emission of PFAS.

The bill also provides that DNR may, if it determines doing so is necessary to
protect human health or the environment, require a person who possesses or controls
or who causes the discharge of PFAS to provide proof of financial responsibility for
remediation and long-term care to address contamination by a potential discharge
of PFAS or environmental pollution that may be caused by a discharge of PFAS. This
financial responsibility requirement does not apply to a municipality, fire
department, fire district, water utility, wastewater utility, or the state.

In addition, the bill requires the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents to
provide a grant to a campus designated by the board to conduct research into
technologies for destroying PFAS.

The bill also creates a PFAS municipal grant program, under which DNR must
provide grants to municipalities to address PFAS contamination when the party
responsible for the contamination is unknown, cannot be found, or is unable to pay
for the activities funded under the grant. DNR may also provide grants to
municipalities that are responsible parties under certain circumstances. Under the
bill, grants provided under this program may be used to investigate potential PFAS
environmental pollution or a potential PFAS discharge, treat or dispose of PFAS fire
fighting foam containers from a municipal site or facility, sample a private water
supply within three miles of a site or facility known to contain PFAS, provide a
temporary emergency water supply, a water treatment system, or bulk water to
replace water contaminated with PFAS, or remediate a PFAS discharge or PFAS
environmental pollution. A municipality that receives a grant must provide
matching funds or in-kind services in an amount equal to at least 20 percent of the
grant.

The bill also requires DHS to create and administer a pilot program to provide
free blood testing, beginning no later than September 1, 2020, for individuals living
on or near sites or facilities contaminated with PFAS or other toxic compounds in the
city of Marinette, the town of Peshtigo, the city of Peshtigo, or the town of Porterfield.
The bill further requires any party responsible for contamination of such a site or
facility to reimburse DNR for the cost of the testing; this money is then deposited into
the environmental fund. The bill also requires DHS to conduct a cancer cluster study
to investigate the incidence of PFAS-related cancers and other illnesses in the city
of Marinette, the town of Peshtigo, the city of Peshtigo, and the town of Porterfield.

The bill also creates a new segregated fund, designated as the PFAS action
fund, to collect all moneys received from settlement agreements in court actions, or
proposed actions, resulting from PFAS contamination.

In addition, the bill requires DNR to set criteria for certifying laboratories to
test for PFAS, and to certify laboratories that meet these criteria. These criteria
must be based on protocols established by the federal Environmental Protection
Agency and the federal Department of Defense. Before these criteria are set, the bill
allows DNR to require testing for PFAS to be done according to nationally recognized
standards.

Finally, the bill also requires a person who generates solid or hazardous waste
at a site or facility under investigation by DNR to provide DNR with access to
information relating to any transportation to or treatment, storage, or disposal at
another site, facility, or location.