Stella is a farming community.
Welcome to the small town of Stella.
I think we're 700 and some
individuals out here.
It's lakes, it's wildlife, the
people.
Everybody is a neighbor and
everybody knows everybody.
There's some of the reasons people
move here.
It's a very caring community.
And it's part of why locals never
leave. When somebody needs something
out here, everybody shows up.
Obviously it's a good turnout.
On this night, people have shown up
at Stella Hall filling the parking
lot and roadsides.
We're all here for the same reason.
Inside they fill nearly every seat
as they stand together listening
because tonight they need answers
from town, state and federal
officials about their precious lakes
and wildlife that are contaminated
with man-made chemicals known as
PFAS.
They're here to help us, they're
here to work with us, they're to
answer our questions.
Selatone Chairman Casey Crump
lives in this community.
I love the people.
He has for almost 25 years.
These are neighbors, they're
friends. As the organizer,
he put this information session
together to provide his community
and himself with the first
update in almost two years on
fact. We're learning more and more.
And fiction into just how
contaminated are the water and
ground, whose wells are affected,
and what's the impact on people,
wildlife, crops, and property
values.
Casey's quest for answers is
personal.
It was personal before, but now it's
even more personal.
Like everyone else here.
We have permanent residents that
live around it and we have
vacationers that come up during the
summer. Casey Crump has plenty of
questions.
What does PFAS do to us when we
have it in our body? And then also,
how can we find out if we do have it
our body. If my well's been tested
positive and I've been drinking this
well for 30 years,
do I have it my body?
How can we found out about that?
Because PFAS levels in some areas
are more than three times the
recommended levels, the town is
in the early assessment phase of
being designated a federal superfund
site.
Superfund status would mean federal
funds and an expedited cleanup
process.
Behind Town Hall sits one of many
EPA and DNR groundwater testing
sites. Water samples taken from
various wells like this are part of
the lengthy assessment process,
which could take decades.
For now, the DNR tells people within
five miles of Stella to limit their
consumption of deer meat to one
mil per month, and they've been
told not to eat deer liver at all,
and they shouldn't eat any fish from
almost a dozen different lakes in
the area, which includes fish
in all of the lakes that make up the
heavily populated and popular Moen
nearby Snowdon Lake is on the list
too.
At the edge of the highway, 50 yards
from shore, you'll find a wooden
gate that leads down towards the
lake with a sign that warns people
about the contaminated lake water
and the risk of being exposed
to it from swimming, fishing,
or ingesting it.
Do we have any idea are the levels
staying the same or are they getting
worse or getting better?
Back at Town Hall, the panel takes
questions from people who have
written them on index cards.
The rumor is that there was
some illegal dumping that
caused this.
Is that true or not true?
From the third row, retired nurse
Jean Peterson, who lives in the
first lake portion of the Moen Lake
chain, pushes for the answers
she needs.
I just believe knowledge is power.
The DNR confirms that former owners
of the paper mill, now called
Alstrom, and Wausau Paper are the
primary PFAS polluters in the area.
They've notified both companies and
their previous owners, requiring
them to fund and clean up the
contamination.
In an email statement, an Alstrom
spokesperson tells me they've
received the notification and
they're carefully reviewing it with
the recent site inspection report.
The statement goes on to say we
continue to actively engage as
a partner with the DNR,
EPA, and other agencies.
Less than a mile from Gene
Peterson's home on the shores of
Third Lake and the other lakes,
all is pretty quiet on shore and on
the water, aside from a few
boaters fishing and cruising the
lake.
One day after that community
meeting, I meet Gene Peterson at
the Oneida County courthouse in
Rhineland.
We knew that it would be a matter of
time before it was us.
She candidly tells me she worries
about how PFAS contamination will
impact her health and, when the time
comes, the potential resale value
of her home.
We had our well tested about 12
months ago.
Had never heard of PFAS at that
time.
But we had our test just in general
and it came back fine.
And we drink bottled water.
According to the DNR, lengthy
exposure to certain types of PFAS
can lead to an increased risk of
cancer, developmental delays,
thyroid and heart issues,
infertility, and low birth weights
in infants.
Residents are encouraged to use
bottled water or treat water that
they consume.
Visit dnr.wi.gov
and search PFAS.
The DNR has created an interactive
website where people can search and
learn if they're in one of the PFAS
contaminated zones in Wisconsin.
Pan around the map to learn about
PFOS in your area, or search
an address in the box above.
You can zero in on your own address
or neighborhood to get details on
testing and its results.
Gene Peterson and others learned
there are thousands of types of
man-made PFAS in things like
non-stick cookware, plastic
wrappings, microwave popcorn bags,
waterproof clothing and foam
commonly used in airport fire
trucks.
I have a spring on my land, what do
I need to do to get it tested?
At that community town hall,
at times each answer leads to
more questions.
They spread this stuff on my fields
for years and years and I lived
on that field, I grow vegetables in
my garden, which turned out really
good this year,
but now I have concerns about
consuming those vegetables because
we water with our well water,
we planted them the soil
that that our property sits on
and in addition to that
I lease out my land and
so corn is grown on that land.
I think that corn goes to feed
cattle and livestock.
Are the cattle and the livestock now
consuming that corn?
What is the plan for when the $125
million that has been sitting there,
year one, year two,
unspent?
In Madison, state lawmakers
have set aside $125 million
to help pay for cleaning up PFAS
contaminated sites across the state,
a drop in the bucket of what will be
needed.
We need to get the perfect wording
for that so it includes all the
landowners that actually are
innocent.
For now, the funds are on hold as
lawmakers hash out language in the
bill that protects the environment
and protects farmers, families
and business owners from liability
and the anticipated astronomical
costs of cleanup.
Wisconsin has done an excellent
job under the spills law for
decades and, but
it does need funding.
Community groups representing
municipalities, and environmental
groups from all over the state came
here to weigh in on the
conversation.
You don't have to treat the water to
do your laundry, to do you dishes,
to flush your toilet, but you should
be treating the water that you're
using for food preparation and
for drinking water.
In a case-by-case situation,
the state is footing the bill to
test and re-drill some private
wells.
People are already drinking bottled
water and some are paying for the
testing of their own wells,
something Casey Crump believes his
small community might have to do
if they want the water quality here
to get better before it gets
worse.
We're willing to step up and we're
willing to do what we need to do,
but we still want answers.
Reporting from Sellafur here now,
I'm Merv Seymour.