Evers vetoes 'forever chemical' bill, calls Joint Finance in for special session to release PFAS 'trust fund'

MADISON - Gov. Tony Evers is locked in stalemate with Republican lawmakers over how best to spend money set aside last year to address "forever chemical" contamination.

Evers Tuesday afternoon vetoed a Republican-authored bill aimed at telling the Department of Natural Resources how the funding could be spent, ending months of back and forth between his administration and Republicans.

But now, he's calling on the lawmakers to release the funds to help Wisconsinites impacted by PFAS, instead of waiting until next session to create a new bill.

Now that Evers has taken action on the bill, here's what we know about the bill, the funding and what happens next.

What is Evers doing about the PFAS?

Evers is calling for a special meeting of the Legislature's powerful budget committee to release $125 million in funding to the DNR. Under Evers plan, the agency would be able to use its discretion in spending the money, instead of using a framework created by lawmakers.

Under the bill the governor vetoed, the DNR would have had to go before the committee for approval on how and where the money would be spent, making the release of funds a much longer process.

On Monday, Evers told reporters he may call for a special session to address the contaminants but did not go into specifics.

With his veto, he called for the Joint Finance Committee to meet at 9:30 a.m. April 16 to discuss releasing the funds for PFAS, as well as an additional $15 million in crisis response services for Western Wisconsin where several hospitals suddenly closed.

“It’s been 279 days since I signed the biennial budget and approved a $125 million investment to fight PFAS—the first real, meaningful investment Republicans have sent to my desk to address and prevent PFAS contamination statewide,” said Evers in a statement.

“PFAS are affecting communities across our state, and Western Wisconsin is facing serious challenges due to recently announced hospital closures—there is no reason Wisconsinites should have to wait any longer than they already have for these funds to be released. This is about doing the right thing for our kids, our families, and our communities, and it should’ve been done a long time ago. This must get done.”

Can Evers even call special sessions of the budget committee?

Yes.

Under state law, the committee will hold "special meetings upon call of the governor or upon call of the cochairpersons."

But in 2020 — the last time Evers called for a special session of JFC — lawmakers said such meetings can't take place without their approval.

It's expected that even with Evers' request, the Joint Finance Committee will likely refuse to hold a meeting to release the funding, just as they have refused to act during special sessions called by the governor several times in recent years.

Has Evers formally vetoed the actual Republican-authored PFAS bill yet?

Yes, he formally issued his veto message Tuesday afternoon, saying that the bill would have impacted taxpayers in the long run.

"I will not sign legislation that has any chance of letting those who cause PFAS contamination off thehook for remediating their contamination, and I cannot accept the Legislature’s attempts to shift boththe responsibility and cost of cleaning up PFAS contamination to Wisconsin taxpayers rather thanpolluters," he said in the veto message.

Evers had signaled several times throughout the legislative process that he plans to veto it because of its limitations to the DNR.

Over the weeks since the bill was passed in the Senate and Assembly, the governor said there was back-and-forth between his administration and the Republican authors, but they could not find "common ground."

"They're the ones that have the money, and we can get it out the door, we can do the right thing," Evers said in an interview Monday. "Frankly, we've asked them to do that, and hopefully we don't have to call a special session. That's a possibility, for a special session."

More: New test could help Wisconsinites identify 'forever chemicals' in their blood

What would the PFAS bill do if it had passed?

The proposed law would have created grant programs aimed at providing aid to communities with contamination, in addition to limiting the actions that the DNR could take to address contamination or hold polluters accountable.

It would have also commissioned studies, required a reduction in costs for testing, expanded a well compensation grant program, and established an innocent buyer program that would help property owners who unknowingly purchase land contaminated with PFAS.

The bill did not include funding for the programs, instead relying on the $125 million set aside in the budget eligible for projects based on further legislative approval.

How does Evers want the money to be spent?

He has asked the Legislature's powerful budget committee to include $100 million in financial assistance for testing, disposal of wastewater treatment sludge contaminated with PFAS and for treatment solutions.

The other $25 million would be used to provide financial assistance to innocent buyers of land contaminated with PFAS, landowners who had contaminated sludge spread on their fields as fertilizer, and to provide potable water to those with impacted private wells.

More: 2 Republican legislators push to set standards for PFAS in groundwater

What have Republican leaders said?

Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee indicated they would not take action on the trust fund without legislation being signed into law. In an April 1 statement from the chairs of the Joint Finance Committee, Sen. Howard Marklein, R- Spring Green and Rep. Mark Born, R- Beaver Dam, said the bill "addresses the PFAS issue."

"We are ready to take action on PFAS through SB 312.  Do not veto this bill and be the obstacle to move this critical relief forward," the statement said. "If you are serious about addressing PFAS, sign the bill."

Rep. Eric Wimberger, R-Green Bay, one of the authors of the bill, also asked Evers to sign the bill when it arrived on his desk last week.

“If Governor Evers truly wants relief for the people of Wisconsin then he should listen to affected communities and victims and sign this bill into law," he said in an April 4 press release. "A veto will only result in more waiting and inaction for people and communities who cannot afford to wait anymore.”

What do environmental groups and those in impacted communities say about the bill?

Environmental advocates have ushed back on the Republican-authored PFAS bill since its introduction, due to concerns over limitations that could be imposed on the DNR.

In an April 4 letter, groups such as the River Alliance of Wisconsin, Wisconsin's Green Fire, Peshtigo-based advocacy group Save Our Water, the Sierra Club-Wisconsin Chapter, Midwest Environmental Advocates and the Wisconsin Farmers Union called for Evers to veto the bill.

In the letter, the groups said that the limitations on the DNR's ability to enforce standards and ensure clean and safe water were "overbroad polluter giveaways that will frustrate the DNR's ability to address PFAS contamination in the long term and run the risk of leaving no one responsible for large swaths of PFAS contamination throughout the state, to the detriment of the environment and public health."

Bill authors dispute the arguments of environmental advocates, saying that the bill wouldn't prevent the DNR from holding polluters accountable. A spokesperson from Wimberger's office pointed to a memo from the Legislative Reference Bureau, which outlined that polluters would be held accountable, but those who had contamination spread on their land unknowingly couldn't be held responsible.

Advocates celebrated the veto of the bill, saying it catered more to special interests than residents.

“When we play a partisan game with our water, all Wisconsinites lose in the protection ofour health and our environment,” said Allison Werner, the executive director of the Wisconsin River Alliance.

More: Could cannabis hemp and alfalfa solve PFAS contamination? Wisconsin researchers hope so

Where is the $125 million for PFAS coming from?

Last May, Republicans set aside $125 million in the budget specifically for addressing PFAS, as the number of impacted residents and communities continued to grow.

The creation of the "PFAS Trust Fund," didn't just release the funding to the DNR and impacted communities, though. Republican lawmakers created legislation to guide how it was spent, which is where the PFAS bill came into play.

Without legislation, or approval from the Joint Finance Committee, the money cannot be spent and will languish while communities are forced to find other ways to address the issue of contamination in their water.

What are PFAS?

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a family of man-made chemicals used for their water- and stain-resistant qualities in products like 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.  The chemicals have been linked to types of kidney and testicular cancers, lower birth weights, harm to immune and reproductive systems, altered hormone regulation and altered thyroid hormones.

Laura Schulte can be reached at [email protected] and on X at @SchulteLaura.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Evers vetoes PFAS bill, calls Joint Finance in for special session