Cash buyback
None
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WI
Wisconsin
Active programCollected
28,000 gal
round 1, Mar 2023
Target
25,000 gal
Destruction
North Shore Environmental
Deadline
PassedUse restriction Sep 1, 2020
Federal law applies in every state
- EPA set enforceable drinking-water limits for PFOA and PFOS at 4 parts per trillion (2024). A May 2026 proposal would keep those two, extend compliance to 2031, and rescind the others. Proposed, not final.
- Under CERCLA (the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act), PFOA and PFOS are hazardous substances, so cleanup liability is strict, retroactive, and joint and several.
- Federally required uses at Part 139 airports and military installations follow federal rules regardless of state law.
- The Department of Defense is phasing out AFFF under the NDAA.
State law and program in Wisconsin
Wisconsin Statutes section 299.48 (2019 Wisconsin Act 101) ↗
What's still allowed
PFAS-foam use is restricted under Wis. Stat. §299.48 (since Sept 2020); Part 139 airport and military uses remain exempt.
How to get rid of PFAS foam
Use the DNR/DATCP Collection & Disposal Program, free collection (vendor North Shore Environmental); the state pays the vendor, not departments.
Funding and help
Collection and destruction run through the Wisconsin program; check the official page for what the state covers.
Federal funding, available in every state
- EPA Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities grant ↗, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
- Drinking Water State Revolving Fund ↗, including the infrastructure-law set-aside for emerging contaminants like PFAS.
- FAA airport foam transition support ↗ for Part 139 commercial airports moving off fluorinated foam.
- Fire departments with contaminated water may qualify as claimants in the aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) settlements.
Future plans
Round 1 collected 28,000+ gallons across 60+ counties; program is funded and ongoing.
Destruction & vendors
Foam in Wisconsin is handled by: North Shore Environmental. 60+ counties in round 1; backlog estimate exceeded.
Official sources
Wisconsin official program page ↗A note for smaller departments
Large departments and municipalities usually have legal counsel and a budget to manage PFAS liability. Small and volunteer departments often do not. That makes a documented chain of custody and a certificate of destruction the strongest protection a small department has: proof that the foam was handled lawfully and never released. See liability and litigation.
⚠ Never discharge PFAS foam. Keep the certificate of destruction.
Firefighting foam containing PFAS cannot lawfully be released anywhere: not overboard, in a harbor or slip, down a drain or sewer, onto the ground, or into an ordinary landfill. Under CERCLA (the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act), PFOA and PFOS are hazardous substances, and disposal liability is strict, retroactive, and joint and several, so whoever sent the waste can be billed for the cleanup years later. Keep the certificate of destruction: if you cannot document that the foam was destroyed, you cannot prove where it went, and foam you cannot account for can be treated as a release to the environment, with the liability that follows. EPA / CERCLA ↗