Hi John,

Conservation voters have a huge opportunity right now to tackle PFAS pollution – but we need your help urgently to get it done!

Thanks to your advocacy, we are getting closer to establishing a permanent program to help communities and individuals dealing with PFAS pollution in their drinking water. But we need you to keep the pressure on our legislators to make sure they adopt a strong and equitable PFAS Community Grants Program to make it a reality.

Attend the public hearing on Thursday, June 15. See details here.

Can’t be there in person? Send an email to your legislators here!

Every person in Wisconsin deserves to turn on their tap and feel confident the water is safe to drink. There is mounting evidence linking PFAS to a long list of negative health effects including cancer; liver damage; decreased fertility; increased risk of thyroid disease; and growth, learning, and behavior impairment. Over 120 communities have found PFAS in their drinking water and we expect we'll find more.

On May 18, the Joint Finance Committee allocated $125 million for communities to address PFAS. However, not a single penny can be spent until we have passed legislation creating the program. Senate Bill 312/Assembly Bill 312 has been introduced that would create the ongoing program that would allow this money to be spent now and into the future.

We need our legislators to hear from you!

A hearing on the bill has been scheduled for Thursday, June 15 at 10 a.m. at the State Capitol in Madison. If you can come to Madison and testify about the needs for a strong PFAS Community Grants Program, you can find out more here.

If you can't come to the public hearing, add your voice by sending an email to your legislators asking them to support changes to SB 312/AB 312 to make it equitable and to make sure it works for the communities who are facing this problem. In order to support SB 312/AB 312, we need to ensure communities have the tools they need to effectively deal with PFAS contamination. Specifically, we would like to see SB 312/AB 312 strengthened to:

Remove limitations on the DNR. SB 312/AB 312, as currently written, would restrict the DNR’s ability to protect Wisconsinites from PFAS contamination by limiting their authority to test for PFAS, and potentially limiting when the DNR can take enforcement actions against responsible parties.These limitations should be removed from the bill.
Broaden the definition of “PFAS.” The Municipal PFAS Grant Program uses a definition of PFAS that is narrowly defined to include only select types of PFAS and those for which a standard has been created under state or federal law. Given the limited number of PFAS standards, the length of time it takes to create new standards, and the rapidly emerging research on the dangers associated with more and more types of PFAS, SB 312/AB 312 should be amended to include eligibility based on any PFAS for which a health advisory has been issued by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services or the Environmental Protection Agency.
Remove Burdensome Match Requirements. The most helpful parts of this bill would provide grants to municipalities or people on private wells, but the bill currently could require grant recipients to match 20 percent of the funds. This would limit access for many impacted communities and individuals and put a financial burden on people and communities who didn't create the contamination problem. SB 312/AB 312 should be amended to remove these requirements, or at the very least cap them at 5 percent.

We've come this far because of your tireless advocacy and we're almost there. This is moving fast, so don’t delay! Help us keep the momentum on the legislature to deliver clean drinking water in Wisconsin.