On Oct. 23, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Board voted to approve a preliminary public hearing and comment period on three scope statements proposing to regulate PFAS chemicals. The hearing on all three scope statements will occur on Nov. 12, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. Written comments are due Nov. 19.

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are man-made chemicals that are found in many everyday products, including nonstick pans, cleaning products, paints, and firefighting foam. PFAS are present in the bloodstream of 98 percent of Americans. Competing studies debate whether or not PFAS have negative health effects and, if they do, at what level they are harmful.

WCJC is part of the Water Quality Coalition, a coalition of industries, job creators, and taxpayers in the state, as well as scientists and legal scholars, which supports balanced, science-based environmental standards to regulate PFAS. Unnecessarily strict standards would be costly to Wisconsin industry and would open up the state for frivolous lawsuits and potentially millions of dollars in liability.

Gov. Tony Evers had approved the scope statements on PFAS in August. The scope statements would:

1. Adopt groundwater standards. (SS 090-19). Under this scope statement, DNR would promulgate the Department of Health Services’s (DHS) recommended standards of 20 ppt combined for PFOA and PFOS and a 2 ppt preventive action limit. This rule would apply to all regulated facilities that may impact groundwater.
2. Adopt surface water quality standards for PFAS. (SS 091-19). Under the scope statement, DNR could also change Wisconsin Pollution Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit implementation procedures related to PFAS chemicals, including additional monitoring and new effluent limitations. Currently, DNR can address PFAS discharges in WPDES permits on a case-by-case basis. The proposed rule would set a uniform standard and procedures.
3. Adopt maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for drinking water. (SS 089-19). MCLs for drinking water would mostly affect municipal water systems.

Co-chair of the Legislature’s Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR) Sen. Stephen Nass (R-Whitewater) requested DNR hold the preliminary public hearing and comment period on each of the scope statements, pursuant to JCRAR’s authority under Wisconsin’s rulemaking statutes (Wis. Stat. Ch. 227). The JCRAR co-chairs’ authority to request preliminary public input was established in the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act passed in 2017.

With the DNR Board’s approval, the agency is now authorized to hold the preliminary public hearing and comment period on the scope statements. After the comment period, the DNR Board can approve the scope statements. DNR plans to ask the board for approval in January 2020. Once the board approves the scope statements, DNR can begin work on drafting the rules and economic impact analyses.

The rules will not be enforceable until DNR drafts final rules, and the governor and legislature approve them.