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Your Monthly Climate Digest

PFAS in Stella, data centers, spring election, and more

Hi John,

Tucked deep among the woods and fields of northern Wisconsin, the Town of Stella is home to about 700 people. It’s also one of the most PFAS-contaminated communities in the country.

In our new video, Stella Town Chair Casey Crump explains how decades of paper mill sludge spread on nearby farm fields introduced PFAS into the soil, aquifers, private wells, and even the local food supply. Some wells in Stella have tested as high as 25,000 parts per trillion. That’s more than 6,000 times higher than what the EPA considers safe.

Like most rural communities in Wisconsin, Stella residents rely on private wells for drinking water. Families drank this water for years without knowing it was contaminated. Now they’re left asking impossible questions: What has this done to our health? To our kids? To the land and water that sustain our community?

Clean water is a basic human need, not a privilege. Private well owners deserve transparency, accountability, and the right to know when their water is unsafe. Scroll down to learn more about how you can move this issue forward. 

Scroll down for more:

• Water bill update: progress and what’s at stake
• Join us in River Falls for our documentary film screening!
• The fight to regulate data centers: update
• Save the date for the Big Share on March 3!
• Vote for the Wisconsin Supreme Court on April 7
• Honoring the life of George Meyer

Thank you for being a conservation voter,

Peter Burress

Government Affairs Manager

Water bill update: progress and what’s at stake

People across our state, just like Stella Town Chair Casey Crump, are living with contaminated drinking water. We need state legislation that ensures people are aware of the threats in their water. We have made significant progress on the Water Pollution Notification Act, but your continued support and engagement is critical. 

The good news:

Two weeks ago the Water Pollution Notification Act, AB 635, received a public hearing in the Assembly, thanks to members like you for testifying and reaching out to your legislators. The bill would require timely notification to local health officials when groundwater contamination is discovered. As in the Senate, the Assembly hearing showed broad bipartisan support. 

Today, 67 legislators co-sponsor the bill. We need to keep the pressure on to ensure it reaches the Assembly and Senate floors. You have made this progress possible! Continue reaching out to your legislators and demand this bill move forward >>>

More progress on clean water: 

Last week, Gov. Evers announced that a deal is within reach to release $132 million for PFAS cleanup funding – money the legislature has held up since 2023. The funding vehicle is called AB 131.

The original version of AB 131 included major flaws. It created broad exemptions for PFAS polluters, forced private well owners to compete with industrial sites for funding, and failed to guarantee money would reach impacted communities.

A new Substitute Amendment, developed by Gov. Evers and the DNR with Republican legislators addresses these concerns. We were proud to testify in support of the amendment at last week’s Assembly public hearing.

Corporate polluters are still pushing to weaken the bill. We’ll keep fighting to make sure Wisconsin families’ health comes before corporate bottom lines.

Take action now: tell your legislators to support the Water Pollution Notification Act >>>

Join us in River Falls for our documentary film screening!

On Thursday, Feb. 5, we have a special event you won’t want to miss. We’re hosting a free double-feature of the new WCV films, The Right to Know and A Seething Underneath. These documentaries show the struggles rural Wisconsinites face in keeping their drinking water safe from contaminants like nitrates and E. coli. 

After the screening, we will have a Q&A panel discussion with the director, Wisconsin Conservation Voters staff, and two of the people featured in the film. You’ll have the chance to learn about the threat of water contamination and find ways to plug in and take action. 

Doors open at 5:15 p.m., and the screening starts at 5:45 p.m. Concessions are available for purchase through the Falls Theatre.

All are welcome to attend, but please RSVP in advance here >>>

The fight to regulate data centers: update

The Clean Economy Coalition of Wisconsin, which includes Wisconsin Conservation Voters, released its Data Center Accountability Framework to demand strong, enforceable rules for the rapid expansion of data centers across Wisconsin.

Data centers are growing fast and without action their massive energy and water demands will drive up utility bills, strain local resources, and lock our state into more fossil fuel dependence for decades. The coalition is calling on state leaders to act now to protect families and small businesses from rising energy costs, safeguard water and public health, and ensure billion-dollar corporations pay their fair share instead of passing costs on to ratepayers.

Wisconsin households are already feeling the squeeze. Energy bills are rising twice as fast as inflation, and data centers, often operating under secretive utility contracts, are making the problem worse. Across the country, utilities requested $29 billion in rate hikes in 2025 alone, while tech companies and utilities post record profits. That’s not fair. And it’s not sustainable.

Without immediate action, unchecked data center growth will leave Wisconsin families paying more every month, while Big Tech reaps the rewards.

“The approach we’ve outlined is a starting point and provides the opportunity for Wisconsin to get ahead of data center development rather than just reacting to it," Government Affairs Director Jennifer Giergerich said. “We developed a strategy that balances policies to address energy affordability and protect the environment, while supporting the state’s economic development and job creation efforts.”

Take action: urge legislators to support data center accountability >>>

Save the date for the Big Share on March 3!

The Big Share is an online day of giving that supports 82 local member nonprofits of Community Shares of Wisconsin, including our sister organization Wisconsin Conservation Voices.

We invite you to make a donation, start a fundraiser for WCV, and spread the word – help us raise $20,000 in one day! There will be donation matches, prizes, and fun incentives throughout the giving period. Every dollar you give or raise helps to protect Wisconsin’s environment. The Big Share kicks off on March 2nd at 6pm CST and continues through 11:59pm on March 3rd! Stay tuned for more information.

Vote for the Wisconsin Supreme Court on April 7

On Tuesday, April 7, Wisconsinites will elect a new justice to the Wisconsin Supreme Court who will serve for the next 10 years. By voting, we have the opportunity to shape our future and the future of the generations to come.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court holds the power to make decisions that impact our daily lives. They can rule on issues related to environmental protections, voting rights, Tribal sovereignty, reproductive rights, and much more. 

Make sure you’re registered to vote by visiting MyVote.wi.gov. Find nonpartisan voting information on our sister organization, Wisconsin Conservation Voices,’ website here >>>

Honoring the life of George Meyer, 1947 to 2025

For George Meyer, from our executive director: 

In early 2004, I received an unexpected call from George Meyer.

George’s conservation legacy is long and remarkable – eight years as DNR Secretary, a Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Famer, and a lifetime devoted to protecting our natural resources. He’s known for his incredible accomplishments during his tenure at the DNR: safeguarding the Willow Flowage and other public lands, cleaning up contaminated brownfield sites, implementing mercury reduction regulations, and so much more.

He also stood firm in upholding Tribal hunting and fishing rights during tumultuous and dangerous times, negotiating agreements with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission to protect Tribal treaty rights.

My personal memories of George are a little different. When he called me in 2004, it was to ask if I’d run a small, new organization where he served as board president: Wisconsin Conservation Voters. George and other environmental leaders had a vision: Wisconsin needed an electoral voice for our water, air, and land.

Twenty-two years later, that organization has grown into one of the state’s largest political and conservation organizations, fighting for safe drinking water, clean energy, fair elections, and other issues that affect the people and places that make Wisconsin special. And I’ve had the best job a person could ask for.

Thank you, George. May you rest in peace.
Kerry Schumann

See his obituary here >>>

Wisconsin Conservation Voters
133 S. Butler Street Suite 320
Madison, WI 53703
United States

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