Committee hears PFAS testing update; UW study of Stella area planned this fall

Eric Rempala provided an update on PFAS activities, saying the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is discontinuing the Stella water‑testing program because EPA funding ended. Rempala said testing opportunities had been expanded to Newbold, Pelican, Pine Lake and Crescent but were underused, leaving available funds unspent; he suggested communication and outreach challenges and concerns about property‑value disclosure may have discouraged participation.

Rempala said a University of Wisconsin researcher will begin a state‑funded study this fall in the Stella area involving roughly 100 volunteer participants. The study will include water sampling, blood testing and surveys; aggregate results will be made public while individual results remain confidential. Additional federal funding remains under review and could expand the study.

Committee members expressed concern about a recent DNR interim strategy on PFAS in biosolids, which lowers some allowable thresholds for land application but did not prohibit spreading on fields already identified as contaminated. The committee advocated that biosolids containing PFAS should not be spread on fields already known to be contaminated; Rempala said the interim strategy did not appear to adopt that recommendation.