State officials to hold PFAS meeting in Stella Superfund assessment process continues

State environmental officials will return to the Town of Stella next month to discuss ongoing PFAS contamination concerns with affected residents. The public informational meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1 at the Stella Town Hall, according to a notice poster on the town’s website.
“All Town of Stella residents with questions or concerns are encouraged to attend,” the notice reads. “If others from outside the Stella Community are interested in attending, they are welcome, but the focus will be on the community of Stella and the issues we face with PFAS in our drinking water and soils. Attendance will include the USEPA, WDNR, WDHS, and the Oneida County Health Dept. These agencies will be available to provide updates on PFAS issues related to drinking water, contaminated wells, health issues, soil contamination and cleanup, and various other PFAS-related issues.”
“If you have questions about the health advisories issued on September 4, 2025, there may be time at the end of the meeting, if the DHS and DNR staff are available to stay, for questions about this subject,” the notice continues. “There are no guarantees this will be possible and questions regarding these issues asked during the water and soil discussions will be deferred to the end of the Stella Community meeting. If there are questions about the meeting and subjects to be discussed send emails to chair@townofstella.com.”
A new set of wildlife consumption advisories issued by the DNR on Sept. 4 direct residents and visitors to not consume any fish species from the Moen Chain of Lakes (including Moen Lake, Second Lake, Third Lake, Fourth Lake, Fifth Lake), Sunset Lake, Starks Creek (upstream to and including Starks Spring) and Snowden Lake. A notice was also issued advising limited consumption (one meal per month) of venison muscle tissue harvested within a 5-mile radius of the town hall. Liver tissue taken from deer harvested in this area is not to be consumed at all, according to the recent state advisory.
Stella, located approximately 11 miles east of Rhinelander, has been found to have some of the highest PFAS levels in the state. The contamination was discovered in late 2022 through a DNR-conducted well testing program.

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 fire-fighting foam.
According to the DNR, they have made their way into the environment in various ways, including spills of PFAS-containing materials and discharges of PFAS-containing wastewater to treatment plants. Health risks associated with PFAS include developmental impairments in children, links to higher risks of cancer, harm to the immune and reproductive systems, increased cholesterol levels and altered hormone regulation.
Superfund update
In February 2024, DNR officials submitted a report to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) detailing the agency’s preliminary assessment of the PFAS-contaminated lands in Stella. Included in the report was a recommendation that the site be added to the national Superfund inventory.
The so-called Superfund law, otherwise known as CERCLA (the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act), allows the EPA to clean up contaminated sites. It also forces the parties responsible for the contamination to either perform cleanups or reimburse the government for EPA-led cleanup work, according to the EPA website.
The DNR’s January-June 2025 “PFAS in Wisconsin” report included an update on the process.
“The DNR continues to assist the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with their Superfund Site Assessment-related activities near Town of Stella,” the report states. “The DNR recently completed a preliminary assessment and site inspection (SI) sampling on behalf of the EPA. These actions were conducted to support the EPA’s evaluation of whether the PFAS contamination in the Town of Stella qualifies this area to be listed as a Superfund site on the National Priorities List (NPL). The DNR takes these steps when a site may meet the criteria to be included on the NPL and the DNR may not have sufficient resources available to ensure that the contamination is adequately investigated and remediated. If the site becomes a Superfund site, EPA is likely to search for and may pursue potentially responsible parties as part of the Superfund process. The DNR also continues to share information and coordinate with EPA regarding PFAS contamination in the Town of Stella. The SI is one early step in the overall Superfund site listing process. Next steps include development of a Hazard Ranking System (HRS) score to determine if the site is eligible, based on the overall site risk, for listing on the National Priorities List (NPL). The final decision on whether the site qualifies for the NPL and will be added to the federal Superfund Remedial program will be made by the DNR and EPA.The entire process of listing a site takes several years.”