State appeals court upholds ruling that DNR lacks broad authority to regulate PFAS

By Danielle Kaeding | Wisconsin Public Radio | March 6, 2024

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

"A state appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling that deals a blow to state environmental regulators’ authority to force businesses to clean up PFAS pollution under Wisconsin’s spills law.

In a 2-1 decision Wednesday, a three-judge panel said policy changes by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to address PFAS are unlawfully adopted rules that can’t be enforced. That includes regulation of the chemicals, and any associated limits on PFAS, as hazardous substances under the spills law.

The decision affirmed a Waukesha County circuit court judge’s ruling in favor of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, or WMC. That decision, issued nearly two years ago, stated regulators must first list PFAS as hazardous substances through the state’s rulemaking process."