Evers again asks Wisconsin Republicans to release $125M to combat forever chemicals pollution

abcnews.go.com:

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers is again asking Republican legislators to release $125 million set aside to combat pollution from so-called forever chemicals

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers reiterated Tuesday that he will veto a Republican bill that would create grants to fight pollution from so-called forever chemicals and again asked GOP lawmakers to release to environmental regulators $125 million set aside to deal with contamination.

Republicans who control the Legislature's powerful finance committee refused to budge, raising the possibility that the money will go unspent indefinitely as municipalities across the state struggle with PFAS contamination in their groundwater.

“Wisconsinites should not have to wait any longer than they already have," Evers wrote in a letter Tuesday to the finance committee's co-chairs, state Sen. Howard Marklein and state Rep. Mark Born. “Partisan politics should not stand in the way of addressing PFAS contamination in communities across our state.”

PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are man-made chemicals that don’t easily break down in nature. They are found in a wide range of products, including cookware and stain-resistant clothing, and previously were often used in aviation fire-suppression foam. The chemicals have been linked to health problems including low birth weight, cancer and liver disease, and have been shown to make vaccines less effective.

Municipalities across Wisconsin are struggling with PFAS contamination in groundwater, including Marinette, Madison, Wausau and the town of Campbell on French Island. The waters of Green Bay also are contaminated.

Republicans created a $125 million trust fund in the state budget last summer to address PFAS