by Chris Hubbuch | Wisconsin State Journal – February 23, 2022
Conservatives on Wisconsin’s natural resources board has approved weakened regulations for toxic “forever chemicals” in public water supplies but killed a rule to limit them in groundwater, which one in four residents rely on for drinking water.
In the face of widespread public support, the Natural Resources Board voted 3-3 with one abstention Wednesday to reject rules to limit certain fluorinated compounds known as PFAS to a list of regulated chemicals in groundwater.
The board later voted to approve weakened PFAS standards for public drinking water.
The vote scraps two and a half years of work by the Department of Natural Resources to set groundwater standards for contaminants found in private wells and public drinking water systems across the state, including Madison.
The synthetic chemicals, which do not break down naturally, have been linked to health problems including low birth weight, cancer, and liver disease and have been shown to make vaccines less effective.
After heated debate, members appointed by former Gov. Scott Walker sided with industry lobbyists who questioned the science put forward by state health officials and the DNR’s economic impact estimates.
“There’s been a lot of negativity toward chemicals — they’re bad — spoken here today,” said Bill Bruins. “If we pass this rule it’s like biting the hand that feeds us.”
Board member Fred Prehn said he didn’t believe the proposed groundwater rule met statutory requirements.
“I’m a rules follower,” said Prehn, who has refused to step down since his term ended in May as Republicans in the Senate have denied a confirmation hearing for Gov. Tony Evers’ nominee to replace him.
Terry Hilgenberg, who abstained without explanation, said he didn’t trust the Department of Health Services scientists.
“I don’t want to be COVIDed here,” Hilgenberg said, citing variances in local public health guidelines. “When I come to the ‘people’s republic of Madison’ I have to wear a mask, and it’s ridiculous… I don’t have trust in the DHS.”
Hilgenberg also said he didn’t believe the DNR’s economic impact statement based on a conversation with a northeast Wisconsin well digger.
That prompted a rebuke from DNR Secretary Preston Cole.
“You’re not going to take us on and say somehow you believe it to be true because you talked to a guy,” Cole said. “Listen to yourself.”
DNR staff later pointed out that Hilgenberg had conflated the cost estimates for private and municipal wells.
Chair Greg Kazmierski tried unsuccessfully to amend the proposed groundwater standard to the Environmental Protection Agency’s existing health advisory, which is 3.5 times higher than the DNR’s proposed standard.
The board later voted 6-1 to reject the DNR’s proposed 20 parts per trillion standard for public drinking water supplies and instead adopt the EPA’s 70 ppt health guideline. Recently released EPA documents show negative health effects can occur at just 1 ppt.
Click HERE to read more.
Our Testimony before the Natural Resources Board:
My name is Laura Olah and I am the Executive Director for Safe Water Around Badger — the group that first petitioned for state groundwater standards for PFOA and PFOS (individually and combined) in 2017. Since then, more than 40 PFAS chemicals have been detected in Wisconsin’s groundwater, surface water and drinking water.
With your support, today Wisconsin will take a meaningful and achievable step to protect public health by revealing exposures to two PFAS chemicals.
According to the EPA’s PFAS webpage, the first and most important step to protect public health is “find out if PFAS are in your drinking water.”
But we all know that voluntary testing of public water supplies is very rarely happening. Less than 1% of Wisconsin’s public drinking water systems have been tested for PFAS, with small rural systems being hit hardest of all.
Responsible parties are afraid of finding PFAS contamination and I don’t blame them – right now there are no easy answers to solving the problem once it is confirmed.
But without this data and without state regulations, drinking water supplies may be dosed with PFAS — undetected for years and even decades.
Solving the PFAS crisis will not be easy and it will be expensive, but this does not cancel our shared responsibility to inform and protect the public.
Hiding the PFAS problem doesn’t make it go away – it only means that exposures remain undetected.
Thank you for supporting the regulation of PFAS in Wisconsin’s groundwater, drinking water, and fresh water resources – as a first meaningful and achievable step in protecting public health.
Other Public Testimony
Town of Peshtigo Cindy Boyle Public Testimony 23 Feb 2022
Darsi Foss Retired WDNR Citizen Testimony on Regulating PFAS 23 Feb 2022
Lee Donahue Town of Campbell Final Testimony WDNR Natural Resources Board 23 Feb 2022
Wisconsin Conservation Voters Testimony Peter Burress 23 Feb 2022