DNR launches two new grant programs to sample for PFAS

WISCONSIN – This week, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced the launch of two new grant programs authorized by 2025 Wisconsin Acts 200 and 201, collectively known as the PFAS Laws.

These two programs are the PFAS Community Grants Sampling Program and the Wisconsin PFAS Private Well Testing program.

PFAS are a group of human-made chemicals used for decades in numerous products, including non-stick cookware, fast food wrappers, stain-resistant sprays and certain types of firefighting foam. During manufacturing, use and disposal of materials that contain PFAS, these chemicals have reached the environment, where they resist degradation. As PFAS cycle through the land, air and water, they can accumulate in the bodies of humans and wildlife and may cause adverse health impacts.  

The PFAS Community Grants Sampling Program provides eligible municipalities with funding to sample for PFAS in private wells, public water supplies at eligible schools and childcare facilities and wastewater and other eligible materials at treatment plants.

Municipalities are broadly defined by these laws and include counties, cities, villages or towns, tribal governing bodies, utility or sewerage districts, lake protection districts and technical college districts.

The DNR will accept applications for Cycle A of the PFAS Community Grants Sampling Program for approximately six months. Communities that need additional time to develop sampling plans and submit an application for grant funding will be able to apply in additional grant cycles.

Each municipality will design and implement their own sampling program that reflects the needs and priorities of the community. Municipalities that find PFAS contamination in public water systems may be able to apply for funding through existing DNR funding programs to install treatment systems or construct new wells.

Learn more about the program at www.dnr.wisconsin.gov/aid/PFASsampling.

The Wisconsin PFAS Private Well Testing (WisPPWT) program will allow private well owners and users to sample their private well for PFAS if they are not part of a municipality that is pursuing a community grant.

Once the private well owner or user is confirmed to be eligible for PFAS sampling through WisPPWT, the Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene (WSLH) will ship a home sample kit to the residence. The private well owner or user will collect a water sample and ship it back to the WSLH using a pre-paid shipping label.

There is less funding available through WisPPWT than through the PFAS Community Grants Sampling Program, so private well owners and users who are interested in sampling their well for PFAS should first contact their local officials about community-based plans for PFAS sampling.

Private well owners or users who find PFAS contamination through either of these programs may be able to apply for funding through the expanded Well Compensation Grant Program to, for example, install a new treatment system, construct a new well or connect to a public water supply.

Learn more about the program at www.dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/PFAS/WisPPWT.html.

While developing these new programs, the DNR gathered feedback about potential implementation from a variety of individuals and entities through a series of listening sessions, meetings with partner groups and an online survey. Staff considered all feedback and strived to incorporate it into these programs to ensure they effectively support a wide range of community needs.

The DNR is also working to launch additional grant programs. The PFAS Laws added $35 million to the state’s Well Compensation Grant Program and raised income limits so more households and businesses will be eligible for funding to address PFAS in their drinking water. Grants for sampling irrigation wells, agriculture and landfill leachate for PFAS are expected to be available in 2027.