The state Department of Natural Resources has restarted efforts to set standards for bacteria in groundwater after conservatives on the agency's policy board killed the attempt in February.
The Wisconsin State Journal reports that the board on Wednesday authorized a public hearing and comment period on a new rule-making process to set groundwater standards for E. coli bacteria.
DNR officials spent two-and-a-half years developing rules setting groundwater standards for E. coli, PFAS chemicals and other pollutants but the board scrapped the work in February.
The board's conservative majority said then that they were concerned about the state getting ahead of federal regulators setting PFAS standards as well as the cost of compliance and killed the entire rules package.