Gov. Tony Evers signed a pair of bills Monday that will commit $133 million in state funding to combat PFAS contamination across Wisconsin.
The Republican-authored bill passed the Senate in March after years of back-and-forth between the governor and Republican lawmakers over how to spend PFAS funds, which were first included in the 2023-2025 state budget.
This compromise protects farmers, some businesses, and other “innocent landowners” from being held responsible for PFAS contamination they did not cause. We’re also allocating $80 million in community grants for testing and remediation efforts.
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The bill would allocate $35 million to expand a state grant program to treat or replace contaminated private wells to reach more homeowners, renters, schools and child care facilities.
Evers celebrated the bill signing by visiting residents of Campbell, a La Crosse County town that has been receiving state-funded bottled water for five years because of widespread PFAS contamination in private wells.
The governor told reporters the bill is an example of a compromise between Democrats and Republicans, with both sides making sacrifices.
“If you’re going to say that was a mistake, talk to these people,” Evers said of Campbell residents. “They’ve been drinking water for five years. So I think this is a good lesson to learn politically. But for the people here, getting water so they can drink it is the most important thing.”
Evers vetoed a similar Republican bill last year over concerns that landowner protections would exempt polluters and limit the power of the state Department of Natural Resources.
State Sen. Eric Winberger (R-Gillette) celebrated the signing of the bill he co-authored. Winberger said in a statement that the bill “protects innocent victims of PFAS across Wisconsin from unjust state actions.”
Lee Donahue, a member of the Town of Campbell Board of Supervisors, said the $133 million in funding will have a “significant” impact on her community and those who have been fighting PFAS contamination for years.
He said the compromise bill also lays the foundation for future efforts at the state level to address PFAS.
“This is a first step,” Donahue said Monday. “There’s still a lot of work to do. But I think the fact that we’re successful today means we can be successful in the future with the remaining steps we need to take to ensure truly safe water for all Wisconsinites, no matter where they live.”
Donahue said he wants lawmakers to establish a statewide standard for PFAS in groundwater and ban “non-essential PFAS” in manufacturing, similar to Minnesota’s law passed in 2023.
Gov. Tony Evers (left) speaks with Peter Davison on Monday, April 6, 2026, about new state funding for communities to address PFAS contamination. Hope Kirwan/WPR
“This makes the big problems we face just a little bit smaller.”
Peter Davison was one of the residents Evers visited Monday, and his 6-year-old twins were playing in his yard overlooking Lake Onalaska.
Davison and his wife, Audra, learned that their well was contaminated with PFAS in 2020, shortly after their twins were born 10 weeks premature.
By the time the children were able to return home after a two-month hospitalization, the family no longer drank tap water or cooked with it, he said.
“I have pictures of my kids sitting on top of Culligan’s jug in the kitchen when they were only one year old, because it’s just part of our daily life,” he said.
Davison, who grew up in this household, was one of several lifelong residents of French Island who expressed concerns about how long-term exposure to PFAS has and will affect their health.
Massive exposure to so-called forever chemicals has been linked to serious health problems such as cancer and fertility problems.
A new $80 million community grant program could help the Town of Campbell pay for a new municipal water system currently under construction.
“This makes the big problems we face just a little bit smaller and more manageable,” Davison said of the funding.
The state Department of Natural Resources secretary told WPR in March that the department was working on a funding plan.
Secretary Karen Hyun said the DNR will begin funding water sampling and biosolids and wastewater sampling this year. The agency also plans to immediately begin hiring for 10 positions authorized under the law.
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