Gov. Tony Evers announced in a recent press release that he is calling the Republican-controlled Joint Committee on Finance into a special meeting set to occur on April 16 at 9:30 a.m. to press for Republican legislators’ release of $140 million in already-approved funding to fight PFAS statewide and stabilize health care access in western Wisconsin. The PFAS funding has been unspent in Madison for more than nine months.
Gov. Evers also vetoed Senate Bill (SB) 312, a GOP-backed bill containing controversial provisions the governor has argued are designed to benefit and protect polluters, limiting the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ authority to respond to contamination. His veto message for SB 312 is available here.
At the federal level, the Biden administration finalized strict limits on PFAS in drinking water that will require utilities to reduce them to the lowest level they can be reliably measured, according to the Associated Press. Officials say this will reduce exposure for 100 million people and help prevent thousands of illnesses, including cancers. The rule is the first national drinking water limit on toxic PFAS.
