AB 312

This bill creates several new programs and requirements relating to PFAS,

which is defined in the bill to mean perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS),

perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS),

perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA),

perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), and any other perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl

substance for which a standard has been promulgated under state or federal law.

Municipal PFAS grant program

The bill requires the Department of Natural Resources to create a municipal

PFAS grant program to provide all of the following grants:

1. Grants to municipalities (defined under current law as a city, town, village,

county, county utility district, town sanitary district, public inland lake protection

and rehabilitation district, or metropolitan sewage district), distributed in equal

shares, for PFAS testing at municipal water systems and municipal wastewater

treatment facilities, or for reimbursement for such testing.

2. Grants to nonmunicipal entities regulated as public water systems,

distributed in equal shares up to $1,800, to test their drinking water supply for

PFAS, if required to do so by DNR, or for reimbursement for such testing.

3. Grants to municipalities to test for PFAS levels at municipally owned or

managed locations where PFAS may be present. These grants are not available to

municipalities that receive a grant under this program to test for PFAS at municipal

water systems and municipal wastewater treatment facilities. These grants require

matching funds of up to 20 percent from the applicant.

4. Grants to municipalities to dispose of PFAS-containing biosolids at facilities

that accept such biosolids. These grants require matching funds of up to 20 percent

from the applicant.

5. Grants for capital costs or debt service, including for facility upgrades or new

infrastructure, to municipalities that are small or disadvantaged or in which rates

for water or wastewater utilities will increase by more than 20 percent as a direct

result of steps taken to address PFAS contamination.

6. Grants to municipalities for capital costs or other costs related to PFAS that

are not otherwise paid from the segregated environmental improvement fund,

including costs for addressing applicant-owned contaminated lands or costs

incurred by fire departments. These grants require matching funds of up to 20

percent from the applicant.

For all of the grants provided under the municipal PFAS grant program, DNR

may not require a grant recipient to take any action to address PFAS unless PFAS

levels exceed any existing standard under state or federal law or unless state or

federal law otherwise allows DNR to require the grant recipient to take action. The

bill also prohibits DNR from publicly disclosing the results of any PFAS testing

conducted under this grant program unless DNR notifies the grant recipient at least