Read the full article by Danielle Kaeding (Wisconsin Public Radio)
“The current and former owners of a Rhinelander paper mill are responsible for widespread PFAS contamination in the northern Wisconsin township of Stella, state environmental regulators said in new letters obtained by WPR.
The letters come after a site inspection of the area to evaluate its potential listing as a Superfund site. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources conducted the inspection on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency within Stella and the community of Starks in Oneida County, roughly 9 miles east of the city of Rhinelander. A Sept. 15 site inspection report found ‘a release of PFAS to soil’ within a 3-mile radius of Starks, with the greatest impacts around Starks and an area east of Snowden Lake.
The report states municipal and industrial facilities along with septic companies have spread waste on farm fields in Stella since at least 1996, including treated sewage sludge, paper mill sludge and septage. Sludge from municipal and industrial treatment plants have been known to contain the chemicals due to their use in a wide variety of products.” …