The Northern Wisconsin Town of Stella Demands Action on PFAS

Zac Schultz:
In environmental news, at more than 100 sites across the state, from Mount Pleasant to Superior, people are dealing with water contaminated with the manmade chemicals known as PFAS. “Here & Now” reporter Murv Seymour went to the Northwoods community of Stella, which is currently under review for a Superfund designation where residents put health and environmental officials on the hot seat.

William “Casey” Crump:
Stella is a farming community.

Murv Seymour:
Welcome to the small town of Stella.

William “Casey” Crump:
I think we’re 700 and some individuals out here.

Murv Seymour:
It’s lakes, it’s wildlife, the people.

William “Casey” Crump:
Everybody is a neighbor and everybody knows everybody.

Murv Seymour:
They’re some of the reasons people move here.

William “Casey” Crump:
It’s a very caring community.

Murv Seymour:
And it’s part of why locals never leave.

William “Casey” Crump:
When somebody needs something out here, everybody shows up.
Obviously, it’s a good turnout.

Murv Seymour:
On this night, people have shown up at Stella Hall filling the parking lot and roadsides.

William “Casey” Crump:
We’re all here for the same reason.

Murv Seymour:
Inside, they fill nearly every seat as they stand together listening because tonight, they need answers from town, state and federal officials about their precious lakes and wildlife that are contaminated with man-made chemicals known as PFAS.

William “Casey” Crump:
They’re here to work with us. They’re here to work with us. Theyre here to answer our questions.

Murv Seymour:
Stella town chairman Casey Crump lives in this community.

William “Casey” Crump:
I love the community. I love the people.

Murv Seymour:
He has for almost 25 years.

William “Casey” Crump:
These are neighbors. They’re friends.

Murv Seymour:
As the organizer, he put this information session together to provide his community and himself with the first update in almost two years on fact…

Man:
We’re learning more and more.

Murv Seymour:
… and fiction into just how contaminated are the water and ground, whose wells are affected and what’s the impact on people, wildlife, crops and property values. Casey’s quest for answers is personal.

William “Casey” Crump:
It was personal before but now it’s even more personal.

Murv Seymour:
Like everyone else here…

William “Casey” Crump:
We have permanent residents that live around it, and we have vacationers that come up during the summer.

Murv Seymour:
… Casey Crump has plenty of questions.

William “Casey” Crump:
What does PFAS do to us when we have it in our body? And then also, how can we find out if we do have it in our body? If my well’s been tested positive and I’ve been drinking this well for 30 years, you know, do I have it in my body? How can we find out about that?

Murv Seymour:
Because PFAS levels in some areas are more than three times the recommended levels, the town is in the early assessment phase of being designated a federal Superfund site. Superfund status would mean federal funds and an expedited cleanup process. Behind town hall sits one of many EPA and DNR groundwater testing sites. Water samples taken from various wells like this are part of the lengthy assessment process, which could take decades. For now, the DNR tells people within five miles of Stella to limit their consumption of deer meat to one meal per month, and they’ve been told not to eat deer liver at all. And they shouldn’t eat any fish from almost a dozen different lakes in the area, which includes fish and all of the lakes that make up the heavily populated and popular Moen Lake Chain. Nearby Snowden Lake is on the list, too. At the edge of the highway, 50 yards from shore, you’ll find a wooden gate that leads down towards the lake with a sign that warns people about the contaminated lake water and the risks of being exposed to it from swimming, fishing, or ingesting it.

Audience Member:
Do we have any idea are the levels staying the same or are they getting worse or getting better?

Murv Seymour:
Back at town hall, the panel takes questions from people who have written them on index cards.

Jean Pederson:
The rumor is that there was some illegal dumping that caused this. Is that true or not true?

Murv Seymour:
From the third row, retired nurse Jean Pederson, who lives on the First Lake portion of the Moen Lake Chain, pushes for the answers she needs.

Jean Pederson:
I just believe knowledge is power.

Murv Seymour:
The DNR confirms that former owners of the paper mill, now called Ahlstrom and Wausau Paper, are the primary PFAS polluters in the area. They’ve notified both companies and their previous owners, requiring them to fund and clean up the contamination. In an email statement, an Ahlstrom spokesperson tells me they’ve received the notification and they’re carefully reviewing it with the recent site inspection report. The statement goes on to say, we continue to actively engage as a partner with the DNR, EPA and other agencies. Less than a mile from Jean Peterson’s home on the shores of Third Lake and the other lakes, all is pretty quiet on shore and on the water, aside from a few boaters fishing and cruising the lake. One day after that community meeting, I meet Jean Pederson at the Oneida County Courthouse in Rhinelander.

Jean Pederson:
We knew that it would be a matter of time before it was us.

Murv Seymour:
She candidly tells me she worries about how PFAS contamination will impact her health, and when the time comes, the potential resale value of her home.

Jean Pederson:
We had our well tested about 12 months ago, had never heard of PFAS at that time, but we had our well tested just in general and it came back fine. And we drink bottled water.

Murv Seymour:
According to the DNR, lengthy exposure to certain types of PFAS can lead to an increased risk of cancer, developmental delays, thyroid and heart issues, infertility and low birth weights in infants. Residents are encouraged to use bottled water or treat water that they consume.

Narrator on video:
First visit DNR.wi.gov and search PFAS.

Murv Seymour:
The DNR has created an interactive website where people can search and learn if they’re in one of the PFAS contaminated zones in Wisconsin.

Narrator on video:
Pan around the map to learn about PFAS in your area or search an address in the box above.

Murv Seymour:
You can zero in on your own address or neighborhood to get details on testing and its results. Jean Pederson and others learned there are thousands of types of man-made PFAS in things like nonstick cookware, plastic wrappings, microwave popcorn bags, waterproof clothing and foam commonly used in airport fire trucks.

William “Casey” Crump:
I have a spring on my land. What do I need to do to get it tested?

Murv Seymour:
At that community town hall, at times, each answer leads to more questions.

William “Casey” Crump:
They spread this stuff on my fields for years and years and years. I lived on that field. I grow vegetables in my garden, which turned out really good this year. But now I have concerns about consuming those vegetables because we water with our well water. We, you know, we planted them in the soil that our property sits on. And in addition to that, I lease out my land. And so corn is grown on that land. I think that corn goes to feed cattle and livestock. Are the cattle and livestock now consuming that corn?

Audience member:
What is the plan for when the $125 million that has been sitting there year one, year two unspent.

Murv Seymour:
In Madison, state lawmakers have set aside $125 million to help pay for cleaning up PFAS contaminated sites across the state, a drop in the bucket of what will be needed.

Man at legislative public hearing:
We need to get the perfect wording for that, so it includes all the landowners that actually are innocent.

Murv Seymour:
For now, the funds are on hold as lawmakers hash out language in the bill that protects the environment and protects farmers, families and business owners from liability and the anticipated astronomical costs of cleanup.

Jodi Habush Sinykin:
Wisconsin has done an excellent job under the Spills Law for decades, and — but it does need funding.

Murv Seymour:
Community groups representing municipalities and environmental groups from all over the state came here to weigh in on the conversation.

Mark Pauli:
You don’t have to treat the water to do your laundry, to do your dishes, to flush your toilet. But you should be treating the water that you’re using for food preparation and for drinking water.

Murv Seymour:
In a case-by-case situation, the state is footing the bill to test and redrill some private wells. People are already drinking bottled water and some are paying for the testing of their own wells, something Casey Crump believes his small community might have to do if they want the water quality here to get better before it gets worse.

William “Casey” Crump:
We’re willing to step up and we’re willing to do what we need to do, but we still want answers.

Murv Seymour:
Reporting from Stella for “Here & Now,” I’m Murv Seymour.