Republicans eliminate proposed DNR programs from budget, including several measures to fight 'forever chemical' contaminations

Laura Schulte
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Republican lawmakers in charge of the state's budget-writing process eliminated a number of key initiatives aimed at confronting a growing number of "forever chemical" contaminations across the state. 

Members of the state's Joint Finance Committee voted Thursday to eliminate 11 proposed scientist positions for the Department of Natural Resources, a grant program for communities fighting a contamination and a program that would test all public water supplies for the toxic chemicals. 

Previously removed from the budget were several other measures, including standards for PFAS, measures to force businesses found to have released the chemicals into the environment to take responsibility and funding for certified PFAS testing labs and hazardous substance discharge investigations. 

Lawmakers did keep one measure in tact: $1 million in funding for a firefighting foam collection program, which will be used to collect the more than 63,000 gallons of foam currently housed at 830 fire departments across the state. 

Sen. Melissa Agard, D-Madison, who has advocated on the issue of PFAS in the wake of the discovery of contamination in Madison waters, said the actions taken by the finance committee was disappointing. 

"Having access to clean, safe drinking water isn't a partisan issue," she said. "It matters to everyone in Wisconsin that we address that much of the water in Wisconsin is poisoned by PFAS." 

Sen. Brad Pfaff, D-Onalaska, represents an area facing widespread contamination that leached through the ground from the La Crosse Regional Airport, said he doesn't understand the reasoning behind removing the measures from the budget. 

"(PFAS) aren't going to go away. We need to step forward and work together in order to find common ground to make sure residents and businesses can have access to safe drinking water," he said. "We're talking about water, a liquid that impacts every community." 

Despite the elimination of several of the PFAS-related measures from the budget, Democratic lawmakers still have another avenue for giving the communities a way to fight back against the chemicals: the CLEAR Act.

Reintroduced in late April, with Agard as one of its sponsors, the legislation would include a municipal grant program to help hard-hit communities, as well as county well-testing programs, pay for the testing of public water supplies, standards for the chemicals in the ground, surface and drinking water, and money for communities to conduct mitigation efforts. 

Agard said she's working to get the legislation in front of Republican leaders, and in the meantime hopes that her colleagues across the aisle join on to the legislation. 

"This is something we need to do," she said. 

Addressing chemical contamination in water across the state has been a priority for Evers, after declaring 2019 the year of clean drinking water. Since then, the DNR and other agencies, such as the Department of Health Services, have moved to identify and learn more about the major contamination in the state, putting together the PFAS Action Plan. The measures proposed in Evers' budget follow the recommendations the committee made in December. 

Republican have pushed back, in part because PFAS are still an emerging contaminant, unregulated by the federal government and lacking numerous studies across the thousands of chemicals in the family.

More:What are PFAS? Here's what you need to know about the emerging contaminant group known as 'forever chemicals'

PFAS are a family of man-made chemicals used for their water- and stain-resistant qualities in products such as 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.

MORE:What are PFAS? Here's what you need to know about the emerging contaminant group known as 'forever chemicals'

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, have been linked to types of kidney and testicular cancers, lower birth weights, harm to immune and reproductive systems, and altered hormone regulation and altered thyroid hormones. The compounds have been found in several places across Wisconsin, including Marinette, Peshtigo, Madison, Milwaukee and La Crosse. 

Other DNR measures in the budget

Several DNR programs were approved by lawmakers, including:  

  • $4 million for the removal of contaminated sediments in Lake Michigan, Lake Superior and their tributaries. 
  • $4 million for municipal flood control programs. 
  • $10 million for dam safety grants.
  • $220,000 each year of the budget for a waterway and wetland permitting database. 
  • A two-year project position for the DNR wetland mitigation program.
  • More than $220,000 in funding for the Beaver Dam Lake restoration.
  • $2 million for the Clam Falls dam repair.
  • $2 million for the reconstruction of a New Berlin road related to the Lake Michigan water diversion for the City of Waukesha.

But other projects didn't make the cut, including one that that would have provided free park access to all fourth-graders and their families, and another that would have provided nearly $900,000 to plant trees on vacant properties, former agricultural lands and brownfields, as well as address emerging threats to urban forests, such as the emerald ash borer. 

Also impacted by was the state's Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson Stewardship program. 

Evers proposed $70 million in funding a year over the next 10 years, but lawmakers scaled back the spending to $32 million a year for the next four years.

The changes come on the heels of a record-breaking year for state park visits in 2020, with 20.7 million people flocking to enjoy the state's natural areas. 

MORE:Republicans vote to renew Knowles-Nelson stewardship program for four years instead of the 10 Gov. Evers proposed

Charles Carlin, the director of strategic initiatives for Gathering Waters, an organization that works to protect Wisconsin's land, water and wildlife, said that the renewed funding for the program is much needed, but it was disappointing to see the proposed funding be cut down from the proposed $70 million per year and limited to only four years.

"It's disappointing they didn't make a long-term commitment," he said. "Those long-term commitments are what nonprofits and local governments need to implement projects. While we're excited that this is a rare moment of bipartisanship, it's a missed opportunity." 

Several programs , such as the Streambank Protection Program, on which groups like Trout Unlimited depend on to leverage additional funding, will be impacted by the cuts, Carlin said. And though there is a slight increase in the funds the DNR can access to improve properties they already hold, it's a significant decrease from what Evers proposed in his budget and likely won't cover the maintenance backlog that exists. 

Parks, natural and wildlife areas need more money, he said. 

"They're crucial to the health of Wisconsin and our economy." 

Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on Twitter at @SchulteLaura