Additional private well sampling for PFAS offered in some Oneida County townships

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is expanding its cost-free PFAS sampling efforts.
Testing began in the Town of Stella in December 2022 and is now being made available to full-time and seasonal residents of Crescent, Newbold, Pelican, Pine Lake and Sugar Camp who receive a letter of eligibility, the agency announced in a July 1 press release.
“Those who choose to participate in this sampling effort will receive their private well’s sample results and, if appropriate, recommendations from the DNR for actions to take,” the release states.
Sampling of private wells in these townships will begin this month and will likely run through December 2025, according to the release.
“Eligibility letters will be sent to homeowners in batches to accommodate laboratory capacity. Therefore, not all residences will receive notification of sampling availability at the same time,”DNR officials advised.

Well owners can submit questions to DNRDGOneidaCountyPFAS@wisconsin.gov or 1-888-626-0605.
PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, 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. These contaminants have made their way into the environment in a variety of ways, including spills of PFAS-containing materials, discharges of PFAS-containing wastewater to treatment plants, and use of certain types of firefighting foams.
The testing in Stella led to the discovery of some of the highest PFAS readings in the state to date. It also led to a federal lawsuit. In August 2023, a group of Stella property owners filed suit alleging the long-standing practice of spreading sludge/fibercake from the Rhinelander paper mill on local farmlands caused the contamination. There are 48 named plaintiffs in the case which remains pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.
The defendants — the current and former owners of the mill (Ahlstrom and Wausau Paper) as well as the chemical companies 3M and BASF (both accused of selling PFAS products to the mill and failing to warn of potential danger) — have vigorously contested the plaintiffs’ claims.
For more information about the DNR’s response to PFAS contamination in Wisconsin, visit https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/PFAS.