Madison, WI— Today, in a decision applauded by environmental and public health advocates, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a ruling affirming the ability of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to protect Wisconsinites from toxic environmental pollution under the state’s Spills Law.
The decision marks the end of a case that began in 2021 when Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) filed a lawsuit against the DNR to limit the agency’s ability to investigate PFAS contamination and require responsible parties to clean up contaminated sites.
“The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision is a victory for the health and wellbeing of the people of Wisconsin. We are pleased that the court rejected WMC’s reckless attempt to undermine a bedrock environmental and public health protection that has kept Wisconsinites safe from toxic contamination for almost fifty years,” said Midwest Environmental Advocates Staff Attorney Rob Lee.
For more than four years, Midwest Environmental Advocates (MEA) has been fighting to make sure WMC doesn’t succeed in gutting the Spills Law. Between 2021 and 2025, MEA filed five amicus briefs in the case on behalf of Citizens for a Clean Wausau, Clean Water Action Council of Northeast Wisconsin, River Alliance of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Environmental Health Network, and Doug Oitzinger, a former mayor of Marinette and a current alderperson.
Allison Werner, Executive Director of River Alliance of Wisconsin, said, “For decades, industries have been aware of the serious health and environmental dangers posed by PFAS and similar toxic chemicals—yet many continued to use them without regard for the damage they cause. Today’s decision leaves little doubt that the DNR has the authority and the responsibility to hold polluters accountable when they contaminate our environment and our clean drinking water.”
Tom Kilian of Citizens for a Clean Wausau said, “For nearly five decades, Wisconsin’s Spills Law has played a key role in cleaning up thousands of polluted sites—many of which are found in diverse, low-wealth neighborhoods. Here in Wausau, these working-class neighborhoods have borne the brunt of industrial pollution for generations. We got involved in this case because every Wisconsinite has the right to clean air, safe water, and a healthy environment—regardless of where they live or how much money they make.”
Doug Oitzinger, a former mayor of Marinette and a current city alder, said, “WMC’s agenda prioritizes industry profits at the expense of public health and a clean environment. They are using the courts to attack bedrock environmental laws that are used to hold polluters like Tyco accountable for the harm they have caused in my communities. Today’s decision was a clear rejection of WMC’s flawed legal arguments and dangerous pro-polluter agenda.”
Dean Hoegger, President of Clean Water Action Council of Northeast Wisconsin, said, “Whatever the size or scale of a hazardous spill, Wisconsinites expect the state to get it cleaned up. When toxic chemicals threaten our water, our air, and our families, we don’t have time for legal loopholes or corporate stall tactics. This decision is a crucial affirmation that the state can—and must—act quickly to stop environmental disasters before they spiral out of control.”
Beth Neary, M.D., Co-President of Wisconsin Environmental Health Network, said, “From Stella to Marinette to French Island and other communities facing PFAS-contaminated drinking water, this ruling will be celebrated. It is a victory for the health of all Wisconsinites, because no parent should ever have to worry about the water used to cook or make infant formula.”
In 2022, a Waukesha County circuit court judge sided with WMC, though he agreed to place a stay on the decision pending final resolution of the case. The stay prevented the decision from taking effect and allowed the DNR to continue cleaning up PFAS contamination and providing bottled water to families whose drinking water has been contaminated. In March 2024, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals upheld the lower court ruling. MEA subsequently filed an amicus brief urging the State Supreme Court to take the case and warning of the devastating consequences for public health and natural resources if WMC were to succeed in gutting the Spills Law.
The Spills Law plays an important part in protecting the public from exposure not only to PFAS, but to thousands of hazardous substances, including industrial pollutants, manure and agrichemicals. For decades, DNR staff have used their science-based expertise to determine what substances are considered hazardous and under what conditions. WMC’s lawsuit was designed to force the agency to go through a lengthy administrative rulemaking process to come up with a detailed list of every possible hazardous substance and every circumstance in which that substance could be hazardous. ‘Making a list’ would mean undertaking a rulemaking process that is notoriously prone to political interference and could drag on for years.
WMC’s attack on the Spills Law is part of a larger effort to roll back environmental protections across Wisconsin. In January, a Polk County judge dismissed a WMC lawsuit challenging a local ordinance that regulates the operation of large livestock operations known as confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Another WMC lawsuit is aimed at eliminating virtually all environmental oversight of CAFOs. A Calumet County Circuit Court ruled against WMC in January 2024, but the lobbying group has since appealed the case to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, where a decision is pending.
