Below are highlights from an article by Todd Richmond, Associated Press writer, published on GreatLakesNow.org on August 29, 2019.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has signed an executive order to curb contamination from chemicals in firefighting foam, non-stick cookware and fast-food wrappers, his office announced Friday. Evers’ administration in June proposed a new PFAS enforcement standard of 20 parts per trillion, far below the 70 parts per trillion federal standard. The DNR is currently gathering public input on the standards.
Business groups including Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce have criticized the 20 parts per trillion standard, saying the risk to human health isn’t established and the technology to eliminate the chemicals from groundwater is extremely expensive and underdeveloped.
“We are deeply concerned that such a standard could devastate Wisconsin’s economy and significantly raise the cost of residential water,” the Water Quality Coalition wrote in a letter to the state Department of Health Services in July. The coalition includes WMC, the Wisconsin Dairy Alliance and the Wisconsin Paper Council, which advocates for the state’s paper-making industry. “(The standards) would require municipal utilities, industrial facilities, and energy producers, to reach near-zero discharge levels of compounds that are pre-existing in groundwater.”
Read the article in its entirety at https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2019/08/wisconsin-gov-evers-executive-order-pfas-contamination/
