MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state Department of Natural Resources board is poised to move forward on extensive rewrites of Wisconsin’s water pollution regulations that could cost well-users, farmers and wastewater treatment plants millions of dollars.
The department has proposed restricting manure in areas prone to pollution; establishing limits for polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in drinking and surface water; and expanding state groundwater quality standards to include more substances.
The board is expected to schedule hearings on scope statements outlining all those plans during a meeting Wednesday. After the hearings are completed the board can authorize the department to start writing the regulations.
The board also is expected to approve permanent regulations that would use the amount of e. coli as the indicator of bacterial contamination of water bodies rather than fecal coliform.
Read more Great Lakes Now content on water pollution in Wisconsin here:
Wisconsin Gov. Evers issues order to curb PFAS contamination
Muddied Waters: Bureaucratic process leaves well water at risk and farmers feeling targeted
Featured image: Massive filters at the Ottawa County Regional Water Treatment Plant in Port Clinton, Ohio, is being backflushed to clear away trapped sediments and contaminants. Photo by James Proffitt.
