Grants for testing privately owned wells and providing education, providing an exemption from emergency rule procedures, granting rule-making authority, and making an appropriation. (FE)

What it would have done

Summary by the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

This bill requires the Department of Natural Resources to create and administer a program to provide two types of grants: 1) grants, not to exceed $10,000, to any county and to any city, village, or town that contains privately owned wells or water supplies to test and map privately owned wells to assess groundwater quality and determine the extent of any contamination and to study and map geologic characteristics and well construction practices to determine any correlation between water quality, geology, and well construction; and 2) grants, not to exceed $10,000, to county health departments and county land and water conservation departments to provide education and outreach related to well testing. Applicants may apply for a grant individually or jointly with other applicants and may apply for both types of grants simultaneously. Under the bill, the recipient of a testing and mapping grant must share the results of its testing with DNR and the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point Center for Watershed Science and Education but may not include any personally identifiable information, including specific property locations, with the submitted results.

The bill also requires cities, villages, and towns that contain privately owned wells or water supplies to inform its residents of the importance of regular well testing.

Who's behind it

2 senators are its authors⁠. All 2 are Republicans.

15 more lawmakers signed on in support⁠.

What it would cost

State agencies filed a cost estimate. Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

• Fiscal Estimate From DNR