Cleanup of PFAS could cost Wisconsin billions, regulators and lawmakers say

By Danielle Kaeding | Wisconsin Public Radio | November 12, 2025

Read the full article by Danielle Kaeding (Wisconsin Public Radio)

"Wisconsin environmental regulators and Republican lawmakers don’t agree on much when it comes to addressing PFAS contamination, but both acknowledge it will likely cost the state billions of dollars.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources produced a fiscal estimate this fall on one of two PFAS bills introduced by Republicans. The agency’s estimate focused on potential costs of legislation that would exempt individuals and other parties from paying to clean up contamination they didn’t cause under the state’s spills law.

The bill would exempt people who spread or received PFAS-contaminated sewage sludge under a state license or permit. WPR reported industrial and sewage sludge, along with septage, are spread across roughly 500,000 acres in Wisconsin each year."