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Oneida County Solid Waste Committee sets June 30, 2027 deadline to remove PFAS-contaminated compost, approves operational changes
Summary
The committee was told the Wisconsin DNR classified previously sold compost as municipal solid waste after PFAS testing and requires removal by June 30, 2027; members approved a temporary hauling diversion, bid revisions for a vehicle scale, CDL training for an employee, and a department Facebook page.
On April 30, 2026, the Oneida County Solid Waste Committee was briefed that compost formerly sold by the department was classified as municipal solid waste after PFAS testing requested by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the DNR has required the material be removed by June 30, 2027. Solid Waste Director Lisa Bauknecht told the committee that the designation, made in February 2025, has left staff struggling to find facilities willing to accept the material.
Bauknecht said disposal is a significant operational issue and noted it has been difficult to locate accepting facilities. She described possible options discussed by the committee, including transporting material to other counties, landfilling on site if allowed, and meeting with Sand County Environmental to review options. Committee member Billy Fried asked whether state funding might be available to cover PFAS-related disposal costs and urged follow-up with the DNR; the committee agreed to explore eligibility and to pursue further communication about the established deadline and potential extensions.
The committee approved a temporary amendment to the municipal solid waste hauling contract after Waste Management requested a short-term diversion from Ontonagon, Michigan, to Menominee, Michigan while Ontonagon completes expansion work. Bauknecht said the change would increase hauling time from about two hours to roughly two and a half hours. The committee authorized signatures to accept the diversion.
Members also approved revisions to bid documents for a new vehicle weight scale that would retain existing scale pads and replace only the approaches to reduce costs. The motion to approve the bid-document change carried unanimously.
On personnel, Bauknecht identified an employee as a candidate for a lead yard position who lacks a commercial driver's license. The committee approved enrolling the employee in a two-week CDL training program in Holcombe and indicated support for a promissory-note arrangement discussed with Human Resources. Bauknecht said she would obtain more information about the training program.
The committee reached consensus to keep the Solid Waste facility open until 12:00 p.m. on Friday, July 3, 2026 (observed closure for Independence Day on July 4), with premium pay for employees who work that day, to accommodate haulers and public traffic.
For public outreach, the committee approved creating a Solid Waste Department Facebook page, with administrative access limited to Director Lisa Bauknecht and Rachel Gang and with a formal policy to guide page use. IT provided a Pagefreezer archival quote of $700 for the first year and $420 annually thereafter; Bauknecht said funding for the service will be covered within the department budget.
The committee elected Ted Cushing as chair and Kyle Timmons as vice chair, approved the meeting agenda, and agreed on recurring meeting dates (fourth Monday of each month, starting at 9:00 a.m.). The next meetings were noted as May 18 and June 22, 2026.
Looking ahead, committee members flagged the PFAS disposal deadline and the need for additional conversations with the DNR and outside consultants as the next steps. The committee closed the meeting at 11:15 a.m.
