PFAS, noted for its use in older non-stick cookware, fabric
stain preventers, and numerous other industrial applications, is
fast becoming a major environmental contaminant that is expensive
to investigate and even more costly to remediate. In Wisconsin,
Governor Evers' budget lists this chemical by name in seeking
funding to prioritize likely PFAS contaminated sites and to hire
two new managers to solely address PFAS. The Wisconsin Department
of Natural Resources (WDNR) already is addressing several PFAS
sites across the state with more likely to emerge.
Testing for PFAS is very expensive due to limited laboratory
capacity, and cleanups are even more costly due to the very low
regulatory levels and limited cleanup options. Called an
"emerging chemical," potential PFAS liability is
upsetting the previously stable redevelopment world given the high
cost liability associated with PFAS.
