A Republican representative doesn’t fully favor Governor Tony Evers’ PFAS plan.
3rd District Assemblyman Ron Tusler spoke during a League of Women Voters of Appleton-Fox Cities town hall explaining why PFAS relief funding hasn’t been released.
According to Tusler, Evers announced that he includes $145 million in the 2025-27 budget to address the forever chemicals but hasn’t defined the term “innocent landowner.”
A bill was passed through the Wisconsin Legislature by Senator Eric Wimberger that would limit the DNR’s power to punish an innocent landowner if there are PFAS.
Tusler says Evers vetoed the bill, “And if Evers would have not vetoed that or would agree he wouldn’t veto it, we could see him basically sign that bill, I’m sure that these funds will get released.”
He says it’s not fair to landowners, especially if they don’t know about it.
“There very well could have been some polluter prior to your birth that did something that added PFAS to your groundwater,” he explained. “Would you like to get sued because you’re neighbor or something had a problem with PFAS and got cancer and attributed it to the water underneath your land? It’s a simple request we’ve made.”
Tusler says he’s only against the idea of suing residents but is okay with going after a company that might have produced PFAS.
According to Evers’ office, the $145 million would create a PFAS community grant program to assist municipal drinking water systems and help private well owners sample and test their private wells.
Wimberger’s bill has not been reintroduced.
