Clean Water Updates

Posted April 23, 2026- Right wing Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement has issues with current administration and EPA actions on pesticides, PFAS, and more.

In a recent NPR article Trump administration's rollback of regulations frustrates some in MAHA movement : NPR the Make America Healthy Again movement is becoming frustrated with the latest environmental rollbacks. A quote from the article highlights the frustrations.

 "STONE: The list of grievances with the EPA is long and includes the agency moving to roll back drinking water standards for PFAS, or forever chemicals, and weakening protections against air pollutants like mercury, arsenic, ethylene oxide and more. It's OK'd pesticides and insecticides with known health risks and on the carcinogen formaldehyde proposed there's a safe level of exposure for humans. Alexandra Munoz, who has a Ph.D. in toxicology, advocates alongside many in the MAHA coalition on issues like pesticides.

ALEXANDRA MUNOZ: Everything that the EPA has done does not align with MAHA, and it does not align with a regulatory approach that's needed to stop harmful chemical exposures now.

STONE: From the outset, Zeldin has pursued a deregulatory agenda with zeal, even inviting companies to email his agency so they can be exempted from air pollution standards. Meanwhile, Munoz points out those in charge of the EPA office that regulates pesticides and industrial chemicals have worked for these very industries.

MUNOZ: There is this constant effort to lie to everybody and say that what they're doing is MAHA and say that they care about people's health."

OCCWA has in the past shared concerns about the EPA potentially rolling back PFAS compliance timelines as well as Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL's) of certain variations of PFAS. MCL's are the highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water.  These very same concerns were shared in a WPR article,  Wisconsin residents, groups frustrated with EPA plan to weaken PFAS standards - WPR 

An excerpt from the article stated:

"The EPA announced Wednesday that it plans to keep drinking water standards for two of the most widely studied PFAS, but the agency is pushing out the deadline for water systems to meet those limits from 2029 to 2031.
Doug Oitzinger is a common council member and resident of the city of Marinette, which first learned of PFAS contamination from Tyco Fire Product’s training facility about seven years ago. He called the change “outrageous.”
“This is terrible news for public health,” Oitzinger said. “It’s terrible news for the environment.”
Last year, the Biden administration set individual limits for PFOA and PFOS at 4 parts per trillion, which is roughly 17 times lower than the state standard of 70 parts per trillion. The Trump administration is keeping those standards in place. But the administration is scrapping and reconsidering limits for three other PFAS that include GenX chemicals, as well as a mix of four other PFAS substances."

For clarification's sake, in Oneida County, PFOA and PFAS which the EPA is delaying MCL enforcement until 2031 are the two contaminants that were in the biosolids spread in the town of Stella that contributed to their contamination. The PFAS contamination in the City of Rhinelander wells is PFHxS which comes from firefighting foam. According to the article, the EPA is now planning on scrapping MCL's for PFHxS.

As far as the pesticide concerns voiced by MAHA, they come in the form of a President Trump Executive Order. The Executive Order addresses glyphosate (Roundup), clarified in an excerpt from bmj.com, Trump’s glyphosate order infuriates MAHA movement, leaving RFK Jr exposed | The BMJ
 

President Donald Trump has issued an executive order aiming to increase domestic production of the controversial weedkiller glyphosate, sold as Roundup.

Trump’s 18 February order comes under a national security justification for increasing US production of glyphosate for food security. It grants immunity under compliance with the Defense Production Act, which generally protects parties from liability for actions taken to comply with orders under the act, though it does not provide blanket product liability immunity.

But the move has brought angry accusations of betrayal from the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement and placed its founder, US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, in the awkward position of defending a product he has long condemned.

These concerns combined with "Drill Baby Drill" at all costs as well as the latest attacks to the Clean Water Act are deeply troubling for those in the water protection business. 

Posted March 26, 2026- Our friends at Partners in Forestry and Northwoods Alliance just secured an addition of 191 acres to the Upper Wisconsin River Legacy Forest, but dark clouds are on the horizon.

Joe Hovel the Director of both the Partners in Forestry and Northwoods Alliance is no stranger to OCCWA. When it comes to forestry issues, OCCWA leans heavily on Joe for perspective and advice. Joe has a tremendous legacy in protecting and preserving forests in Wisconsin. 

This latest accomplishment is wonderfully documented in Katie Thoresen's March 26th WXPR article Upper Wisconsin River Legacy Forest expands in Vilas County | WXPR. The article details the effort involved in the project and also the disappointment that both the Wisconsin Knowles Nelson Program and the U.S. Forest Legacy Program which helped secure funding for the project may be going away. A Joe Hovel quote explains:

"The easement on additional acres came through a category under the federal Forest Legacy Program called “Strategic Small Tracts.”

The completion of this addition is bittersweet for Hovel as there is a chance both the funding sources used on the Upper Wisconsin River Forest will no longer be available.

The Wisconsin Legislature ended its session without renewing Knowles Nelson and the Strategic Small Tracts program was funded one time through the Inflation Reduction Act.

“I'm all the more grateful to see this project completed, because we're at a time of kind of like incredible misguided attacks on some of the most valuable programs,” said Hovel.""

It is with great respect we at OCCWA tip our cap to all those involved in the project and congratulate our friend Joe Hovel! 

A related article by Daniel Kaeding of WPR documents the latest plight of the Knowles Nelson Program:  Stewardship program likely to expire after Wisconsin Senate fails to take up bills | WXPR 

Posted March 18, 2026- After three long years the Wisconsin Legislature finally comes to a unanimous consensus to release millions of dollars in PFAS relief funds desperately needed by private landowners.

It's hard not to be critical of our elected officials who dragged their feet for nearly three long years while communities struggled with PFAS contamination not of their own making. The impediment became, holding responsible parties financially accountable. The sticking point was the definition of responsible party. It was a story of big business interests protecting their own while affected citizens were left to depend on elected officials. Well, a huge hurdle has finally been cleared. 

With the Governor surely to sign off on the PFAS bills, the questions become how effective they will be, is the current funding adequate, how the funds will be distributed, and will big business legally challenge them. A WXPR article After years of gridlock, Wisconsin Senate passes bills addressing PFAS - WPR covers the story. A quote from the WXPR article scratches the surface of the details and raises the looming question of legal challenges:

 "The bills include protections for innocent landowners, funding for emergency bottled water, around $80 million in grants for local governments and $35 million for a grant program to replace or rebuild contaminated wells.

Under the deal, farmers and residents would not be responsible for cleaning up the chemicals if PFAS-contaminated sludge was spread on their land. The same is true for commercial businesses. Fire departments and communities that used firefighting foam containing the chemicals during training or emergencies would also be exempt, as would municipal landfills and waste haulers that disposed of PFAS-contaminated waste.

Industrial, commercial and manufacturing facilities that used PFAS in their operations would not be considered innocent landowners. Nor would airports, though a $5.25 million grant program is being created to assist public airports.

Changes to exemptions had drawn pushback from Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce and others. The state’s largest business lobby said the changes unfairly target businesses and could face legal challenges."

To be clear, these bills provide $35 million for private owner well replacement grants. If these grants are administered as the grants to Stella residents were offered, they do not cover the entire fee to replace a well. In fact, depending on the depth of the new well, property owners were left covering the balance which could cost upwards of $10,000 or more.

What's unclear is, where does the money for remediation come from. Removing the PFAS from the soil and water bodies promises to be a daunting task. It is suspected that remediation in Stella will fall to the EPA. For that to happen, the current EPA Superfund evaluation will need to designate Stella to the National Priorities List   Superfund: National Priorities List (NPL) | US EPA . Responses to OCCWA inquiries have suggested that it is likely Stella will qualify for the NPL. 

It's important to understand that the National Priorities list is long and getting longer every day. Funding cuts and staff reductions at the federal level could slow the process even more. Potential EPA rollbacks or flat-out removal of established PFAS Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL's) covered in WXPR article, Wisconsin residents, groups frustrated with EPA plan to weaken PFAS standards - WPR could turn the entire remediation issue into a quagmire.