The state budget included $125-million targeted to PFAS concerns, but how that money will be used is yet to be determined.
PFAS have been turning up in well water in some locations.
Research is still being done on their health effects on humans, but they’ve been linked to things like reduced immune response and reproductive problems.
Paul Neumann, Management and Budget Section Chief for the DNR, recently updated the Natural Resources Board on how the new two year state budget impacted the department.
He said it included $125-million for a segregated PFAS trust fund, but access to the funds is yet to be determined……
“The fund is established. There’s just no mechanism right now to access those funds. That will come at a later point, either by way of the DNR itself submitting requests to the legislature to spend some of those funds, or stand alone pieces of legislation that might be proposed,” said Neumann
The chemicals have been used in a variety of products ranging from firefighting foam to non-stick pans.
