2019 年 5 月 30 日，莱茵兰德水务公司自愿对市水井中的 PFAS 进行了检测。

当时，美国环保署对 PFAS 的健康建议为 70 ng/L (PPT)，威斯康星州卫生服务部 (DHS) 建议的地下水标准水平为 20 ng/L (PPT)。

2019 年 5 月 30 日的样本显示，位于莱茵兰德-奥奈达县机场的7 号井的 PFOA 和 PFOS 合计含量为 104.8 ppt。同是位于莱茵兰德-奥奈达县机场的8 号井检测结果一切正常。

基于检测结果，6 月底，市政府关闭了 7 号井。

6 月 27 日对 7 号井进行的第二次检测显示，PFOA 和 PFOS 合计含量已降至 86.9 ppt。在随后的测试中，7 号井的 PFOA 和 PFOS 含量持续下降：

2019 年 5 月 30 日样本：PFOA 和 PFOS 合计 104.8 PPT

2019 年 6 月 27 日样本：PFOA 和 PFOS 合计 86.9 PPT

2019 年 7 月 24 日样本：PFOA 和 PFOS 合计 26.1 PPT

2019 年 8 月 27 日样本：PFOA 和 PFOS 合计 5.82 PPT

2019 年 10 月 2 日，莱茵兰德水务公司再次自愿在市水井中测试 PFAS。这次测试7 号井没有检测到 PFOA 或 PFOS。然而，8 号井的 PFHxS 含量为 90.1 ppt。然后在 2019 年 11 月 7 日，8 号井的 PFHxS 含量为 95.7 ppt，这是有史以来的最高读数。 市政府决定也关闭8 号井。

市政府面临两个选择。一个是对暂停使用的 7 号和 8 号井进行处理，这些井目前处于离线状态，它们为该市提供大约 25%的供水量。第二个选择是建造一口新井。

市政府希望联邦政府拨款来资助莱茵兰德增加一口新井和对被关闭的两口井进行处理所需的成本。对7 号和 8 号井进行额外处理是一项数百万美元的提议。在地下水中没有 PFAS 的地区建造一口新井也需要花费一百多万美元。

2022 年 3 月，总统乔·拜登签署了 1.5 万亿美元的联邦政府支出措施。该预算中包括 160 万美元拨给莱茵兰德。莱茵兰德上一次被列入联邦拨款法案是在近 20 年前，用于建设污水处理厂。这一次，160 万美元将用于寻找解决该市 PFAS 问题的方法。这笔资金可能会用于建造新井或为两口被关闭的井提供处理方案。该市将需要提供匹配资金，但这仍然是一个比其他选择更好的选择。如果没有这个联邦资金来源，该市将不得不独自行动，这将要求它大幅提高水费。

此外，2021年11月15日联邦政府通过的基础设施投资和就业法案 (IIJA) 拨款 90 亿美元用于解决 PFAS 等新兴污染物。其中包括：

• 饮用水州循环基金 (DWSRF) 下的 40 亿美元新兴污染物资本化补助金，重点关注 PFAS。

• 50 亿美元的新兴污染物补助金将在五年内为小型和弱势社区提供援助，以帮助处于 PFAS 污染前线的社区减少饮用水中的 PFAS。

威斯康星州收到的基金将通过威斯康星州清洁水和饮用水州循环基金 (CWSRF 和 DWSRF) 拨发，这是一个长期的联邦-州水投资伙伴关系。该投资将资助州政府运营的低息贷款计划，以解决水基础设施融资方面的关键挑战。它包括每年为新兴污染物基金拨款约 580 万美元和饮用水新兴污染物基金拨款约 1300 万美元。

Source:

https://www.wxpr.org/government/2019-07-23/pfas-found-in-rhinelander-well-drinking-water-safe-crescent-spring-to-be-tested

https://www.wxpr.org/news/2019-11-06/pfas-compounds-no-longer-detected-in-rhinelander-well-guild-raises-idea-of-mistaken-original-tests

https://www.wxpr.org/natural-resources/2019-11-07/rhinelander-keeps-water-well-active-as-levels-of-pfas-family-chemical-rise

https://www.wxpr.org/news/2019-11-22/second-rhinelander-well-shut-down-as-pfas-levels-continue-to-rise

https://cms3.revize.com/revize/rhinelander/document_center/PFAS/Department%20of%20Health%20Letter%20Regarding%20Well%208.pdf

https://www.wxpr.org/news/2021-09-01/in-rhinelander-visit-baldwin-says-pfas-money-in-infrastructure-bill-could-help-city

https://www.wxpr.org/energy-environment/2022-03-18/government-spending-bill-includes-1-6-million-for-rhinelander-pfas-issues

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrastructure_Investment_and_Jobs_Act  

https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ58/PLAW-117publ58.pdf

On May 30, 2019, Rhinelander Water voluntarily tested the city’s wells for PFAS.

At the time, the EPA’s health advisory for PFAS was 70 ng/L (ppt), and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) recommended a standard level of 20 ng/L (ppt) for groundwater.

The May 30, 2019 sample showed that Well 7, located at the Rhinelander-Oneida County Airport, had a combined PFOA and PFOS level of 104.8 ppt. Well 8, also located at the Rhinelander-Oneida County Airport, tested normal.

Based on the test results, the city closed Well 7 in late June.

A second test of Well 7 on June 27 showed that the combined PFOA and PFOS levels had dropped to 86.9 ppt. In subsequent testing, Well 7 continued to show lower levels of PFOA and PFOS:

• May 30, 2019 sample: 104.8 PPT combined PFOA and PFOS

• June 27, 2019 sample: 86.9 PPT combined PFOA and PFOS

• July 24, 2019 sample: 26.1 PPT combined PFOA and PFOS

• August 27, 2019 sample:  5.82 PPT ombined PFOA and PFOS

On October 2, 2019, Rhinelander Water again voluntarily tested city wells for PFAS. This time, Well 7 did not detect PFOA or PFOS. However, Well 8 had 90.1 ppt of PFHxS. Then on November 7, 2019, Well 8 had a PFHxS reading of 95.7 ppt, the highest reading ever. The city decided to shut down Well 8, too.

The city faced two options. One was to treat Wells 7 and 8, which are currently offline and provide about 25% of the city’s water supply. The second option was to build a new well.

The city wanted federal funding to cover the cost of Rhinelander adding a new well and treating the two shut-in wells. Additional treatment of Wells 7 and 8 is a multimillion-dollar proposition. Building a new well in an area without PFAS in the groundwater would also cost more than a million dollars.

In March 2022, President Joe Biden signed a $1.5 trillion federal government spending measure. That budget included $1.6 million for Rhinelander. The last time Rhinelander was included in a federal appropriations bill was nearly 20 years ago, for the construction of a wastewater treatment plant. This time, $1.6 million will go toward finding solutions to the city’s PFAS problem. The funds will likely go toward building new wells or providing treatment options for two wells that have been shut down. The city will need to provide matching funds, but it’s still a better option than the alternative. Without this source of federal funding, the city would have to go it alone, which would require it to significantly raise water rates.

In addition, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), passed by the federal government on November 15, 2021, allocated $9 billion to address emerging contaminants like PFAS. These include:

• $4 billion Emerging Contaminants Capitalization Grant under the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) with a focus on PFAS.  

• $5 billion Emerging Contaminants Grant Assistance for Small and Disadvantaged Communities over five years to help communities that are on the frontlines of PFAS contamination reduce PFAS in drinking water

The fund will flow through Wisconsin’s Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRF and DWSRF), a long-standing federal-state water investment partnership. The investment will fund state-run, low-interest loan programs that address key challenges in financing water infrastructure. It includes annual allotments for  

• Emerging Contaminant funds around $5.8 million

• the Drinking Water Emerging Contaminant Fund around $13 million