Bill Limiting PFAS Use Goes Before Assembly Committee

State lawmakers are considering a Republican bill aimed at addressing the hazardous chemicals known as PFAS.

Assembly Bill 323, which came up for a public hearing at the Capitol Tuesday before the Assembly Committee on Environment, would limit use of foams containing PFAS to emergency firefighting and to testing under Department of Natural Resources-approved conditions.

The state has been investigating PFAS contamination in Marinette and the Town of Peshtigo, near a test site for firefighting foam.

Republican Rep. Todd Novak of Dodgeville said during the hearing, which was streamed on Wisconsin Eye, that while he supports the bill, he expects the state will also have to look at other sources of PFAS.

“It’s still not addressing PFAS in fabric, water-resistant Teflon, paints, wax,” he said. “So there’s still a lot of unknown that we have to address.”

Darsi Foss, administrator of the DNR’s Environmental Management Division, said while scientists are still trying to find ways to fully address the chemicals, the state has taken similar steps in addressing contaminants before.

“We had to move ahead not with full knowledge,” Foss said. “But as we got more and more experience and more and more science, we are able to get more defined about some things. I think we need to start out with some kind of standards.”

Last week, Gov. Tony Evers directed state agencies to move forward with enforcement standards for drinking and surface water around PFAS.

Democrats have introduced a separate PFAS bill called the Chemical Level Enforcement and Remediation (CLEAR) Act.

It calls for the DNR to establish standards and monitoring requirements for pollution from firefighting foam.

Some Republican lawmakers have questioned whether that measure would be too broad.

Research has linked PFAS in drinking water to cancer and other health problems.