MADISON, Wis. — Today, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel detailed how Wisconsinites struggling against toxic PFAS contamination in their water supplies have been left behind and ignored by Republican politicians in Madison who have refused to release already-approved funding for PFAS remediation for over a year.
Gridlock in Madison created by Republican politicians like Eric Wimberger has left residents in the Town of Campbell relying on bottled water and “left on their own” to figure out how to clean up PFAS contamination from their water supply:
- “But on French Island, where residents have been reliant on bottled water for nearly three years, there still isn’t an identified responsible party paying for the water, leaving the state on the hook. And thanks to political gridlock in Madison, their problems aren’t being solved. Earlier this year, legislation that would have released $125 million in funding to address PFAS failed, due to disagreements between Republicans and Democrats. Instead, the residents say they are routinely used as an example by lawmakers, only to be left on their own to figure out how to handle the widespread contamination in the community they didn’t create.”
One town supervisor described conversations with Republican legislators grinding to a halt, saying that “Infuriated doesn’t begin to encompass all of the emotions wrapped up in this”:
- “Donahue had initial conversations with the Republican lawmakers who authored the proposal, but then those came to a halt. The input of Campbell residents wasn’t taken into account, they said, and many residents were ignored when they sent messages to their state representatives. ‘Infuriated doesn’t begin to encompass all of the emotions wrapped up in this,’ she said.”
One resident questioned Republican politicians who have refused to release funding to help the Town of Campbell drill new wells, asking “How much (PFAS) would you like dripped into your system at home, for you and your family?”:
- “The town is installing several deep test wells, to see if the lower aquifers beneath the island are clean enough to provide water for a community system. But that’s going to cost money, something legislation could have provided. Joe Weitekamp, a Campbell resident who lives blocks away from the airport and has 26 parts per trillion of PFAS in his well, said he wished he could put those legislators in his position. Currently, the EPA recommends that no PFAS be present in drinking water, and has a formal standard of 4 parts per trillion — an amount even smaller than a single drop of water in an Olympic-sized pool. ‘I would ask legislators…how much (PFAS) would you like dripped into your system at home, for you and your family? That’s not a threat,’ he said. ‘It’s just, get your mind around this. You know, you’re fortunate you don’t have this problem. But what if you did?’”
Residents reported feeling “excised from the conversation” by Republican lawmakers more concerned with protecting private business from liability for contaminated drinking water:
- “Thoren, who is also a member of the Town Board, said during the conversation between lawmakers, it felt like the residents of Campbell were made to seem like they somehow caused their contamination plaguing their community, even though they had nothing to do with it. Then at other times, it seemed as though Republicans were trying to protect the companies that used PFAS in manufacturing.”
“Thanks to gridlock created by Republican politicians like Eric Wimberger and Duey Stroebel, $125 million in already-approved funds to help folks in communities like the Town of Campbell is sitting unused in Madison—and that’s shameful,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Communications Director Joe Oslund. “Thanks to the GOP’s games, families are relying on bottled water while Eric Wimberger works overtime to shield corporate polluters from accountability. Enough is enough: with fair maps, accountability is on its way this November.”
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