Wis. Stat. § 292.74 — WI Code / Chapter 292 / Section 292.74
PFAS community grant program.
Status: in_force

(1) Definitions. In this section:

(a) “Immediate action” means a response action that is taken within a short period of time after the discharge of a hazardous substance occurs, or after the discovery of a hazardous substance discharge or environmental pollution, to halt the discharge, contain or remove discharged hazardous substances, or remove contaminated environmental media in order to restore the environment to the extent practicable and to minimize the harmful effects of the discharge to air, lands, and waters of the state, and to eliminate any imminent threat to public health, safety, or welfare.

(b) “Interim action” means a response action taken to contain or stabilize a discharge of a hazardous substance in order to minimize any threats to public health, safety, or welfare or the environment while other response actions are being taken or planned for a site or facility.

(c) “Municipality” means a city, village, town, county, tribal governing body, utility district, lake protection district, sewerage district, or technical college district.

(d) “PFAS” means any perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance.

(e) “Remedial action” or “remedy” means a response action, other than an immediate action or interim action, taken to control, minimize, restore, or eliminate the discharge of hazardous substances or environmental pollution so that the hazardous substances or environmental pollution do not present an actual or potential threat to public health, safety, or welfare or the environment. “Remedial action” includes actions designed to prevent, minimize, stabilize, or eliminate the threat of discharged hazardous substances and actions to restore the environment to the extent practicable and meet all applicable environmental standards, including storage, disposal, containment, treatment, recycling, or reuse and any monitoring required to assure that such actions protect public health, safety, and welfare and the environment.

(2) Financial assistance. The department shall administer a program to provide financial assistance to municipalities for all of the following activities to address PFAS contamination:

(a) Sampling private water supplies.

(b) Installing treatment or constructing wells at a public water system necessary to address PFAS levels in exceedance of a state or federal maximum contaminant level for PFAS, an enforcement standard for PFAS promulgated under ch. 160 , or a state health advisory level for PFAS issued by the department of health services.

(c) Creating a new public water system or connecting private well owners to an existing public water system in an area in which there is PFAS contamination in private water supplies.

(d) Sampling for PFAS in a public, private, or tribal elementary or secondary school, a child care center that is licensed under s. 48.65 , a child care program that is established or contracted for under s. 120.13 (14) , or a child care provider that is certified under s. 48.651 and is not served by a municipal water system and is not already required to sample for PFAS under rules promulgated under s. 281.17 (8) (a) .

(e) Sampling of high capacity irrigation wells and soil on agricultural property to identify PFAS contamination.

(f) Sampling for PFAS in wastewater, biosolids, liquid waste, sludge, influent, industrial waste, or treatment plant effluent that is intended for landspreading or to implement source reduction strategies.

(g) Sampling for PFAS in leachate, groundwater, or private wells that are part of a monitoring plan at a municipally owned or operated solid waste landfill.

(h) Designing, purchasing, or installing onsite treatment systems that remove PFAS from leachate at a municipally owned or operated solid waste landfill.

(i) Investigating potential or known PFAS contamination to identify contamination and determine remedy selection and design for determining immediate actions, interim actions, and remedial actions to restore the air, land, or water.

(j) Conducting immediate action, interim action, or remedial action to mitigate, treat, dispose of, or remove PFAS contamination to the air, land, waters, or other natural resources of the state consistent with this chapter and requirements established by administrative rules promulgated under this chapter.

(3) Application. A municipality may apply for financial assistance under this section on a form prescribed by the department that includes all of the following information:

(a) The applicant’s name and information and an authorized point of contact for the applicant.

(b) A copy of an ordinance or resolution authorizing the applicant to enter into a financial assistance agreement with the department.

(c) Information about the site where grant activities will be conducted, including the site’s address, tax identification number, and property owner, a description of the property location, and population information for the property.

(d) Details about the project for which financial assistance is requested, including the project’s purpose, description, scope, deliverables, timeline, maps, site plans, engineering plans, bids if applicable, permits if applicable, and access permission agreements.

(e) Financial information about the project for which financial assistance will be expended, including the project budget, the financial assistance request amount, and the funding source for matching funds.

(f) If water quality sampling is proposed for the project for which financial assistance is requested, sample results, a post-project sampling plan, sampling protocols, and health advisories issued by the department, the department of health services, or the applicable local health official.

(g) For a project involving an existing site, the bureau for remediation and redevelopment tracking system activity number, information about the qualified environmental consultant for the site, and a description of all of the following:

1. The current and past uses of the property and the surrounding area.

2. The environmental investigation and actions to date.

3. The known or potential exposure pathways and receptors.

4. Necessary environmental actions.

5. Other contaminants of concern that may be addressed by the proposed action.

6. The status of all environmental reports and department approvals, including all of the following:

a. The Phase I environmental site assessment.

b. The Phase II environmental site assessment.

c. The conceptual site model.

d. The site investigation work plan.

e. The site investigation.

f. The interim action plan.

g. The remedial action options report.

h. The remedial action plan.

i. The material management plan.

j. Any other environmental report submitted to the department for the site.

(4) Evaluation criteria. In providing financial assistance under this section, the department shall prioritize proposed projects that address PFAS contamination in private wells and may consider the degree to which a proposed project will have a positive impact on public health and the environment and any other criteria the department determines are necessary to prioritize available funds.

(5) Financial assistance agreements. Prior to providing financial assistance to a municipality under this section, the department shall enter into a financial assistance agreement with the municipality. The governing body of the municipality shall pass a resolution or enact an ordinance authorizing the municipality to enter into the financial assistance agreement.

(6) Matching funds.

(a) For financial assistance awarded for an activity described under sub. (2) (a) and (c) to (j) , the department shall require the recipient to provide matching funds equal to at least 20 percent of the amount provided by the department.

(b) For financial assistance awarded for an activity described under sub. (2) (b) , the department shall require the recipient to provide matching funds equal to at least 40 percent of the amount provided by the department.

(c) Matching funds under this subsection may be in the form of cash, in-kind contributions, force account work, or other sources deemed eligible by the department.

(7) Outreach, administrative, and technical assistance. The department may provide outreach, administrative, and technical assistance to municipalities that receive financial assistance under this section. The department may enter into an agreement with the University of Wisconsin-Extension or a similar qualified service provider to provide the outreach, administrative, and technical assistance to municipalities.

History: 2025 a. 201 ; s. 35.17 correction in (2) (i), (7).