Residents of Stella still waiting for answers about PFAS contamination

TOWN OF STELLA – Until "forever chemicals" showed up in their well, the biggest issue Rene and Philip Iannarelli had to worry about was how they were going to get the family of skunks out from under their back porch.

Full of light through its tall windows and flower gardens dotting the yard, the home the couple built 17 years ago in the Oneida County community of Stella was their dream, and an investment that could be sold when the time came to downsize.

But earlier this year, Rene and Philip got news they never expected: their private well tested positive for PFAS, and in a massive way. The concentrations of the pervasive chemical compounds linked to some kinds of cancer came in at nearly 36,000 parts per trillion, likely one of the highest numbers in the country and dwarfing the federally recommended standard of 4 parts per trillion.

The PFAS levels found in Stella residents' well water have stumped the Department of Natural Resources and left the community with questions about their health, property values and future and wondering how long the wait for answers will last.

"We're taking every step as it goes," Rene said as she looked out over her backyard in mid-July.

Stella, about 10 miles east of Rhinelander, is a quiet area dominated by farms — mostly potato fields — with only the faint sound of cars passing during the day and crickets at night. Sometimes, Rene said, they can see a bear lumber through their backyard, and there's a small coyote that's used their back porch as a perch to watch for rabbits.

Some residences in the area are only summer homes, while other residents live in the area year-round. A few miles down the road is a summer camp for children.

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So far, the DNR has tested more than 50 wells, and several have tested positive for PFAS at levels in the thousands of parts per trillion

Testing in the well of Diane Pilat, a neighbor of the Iannarelli's, detected more than 30,000 parts per trillion of PFAS. Since seeing the results in January, she's been trying to come to terms with what the contamination means for her and her husband, as well as their property value.

"How long have we been drinking this water? Did it happen 16 years ago, or did it just start two years ago?" she said.

The Pilats have three mini and two large horses, who rely on the water from their well every day for drinking. Though the DNR is providing bottled water for the home, the agency isn't able to provide the 45 gallons a day it takes to ensure her horses have enough to drink.

"If one of my animals got sick, I'd be really angry. And I know it's my fault, because I kept them here, but do I just get rid of the love of my life? All the animals I love so dearly?" she said. "I don't know what the right answer is."

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While studies on their effects on humans have started, there are still questions about PFAS impacts on animals.

In Stella, all homes have private wells fed by groundwater in the area.

Residents who have spoken with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said their water used to be one of the reasons they loved the area — it tasted good and was plentiful.

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Many of the Stella residents wonder if the contamination could be linked to the spreading of sludge from water treatment plants, known as biosolids. They worry that PFAS-laden biosolids could have been spread near their homes for years, possibly leaching into the groundwater.

The chemicals get into biosolids when they are put into the wastewater streams by industry for the most part, and aren't the fault of the water treatment plant. Because PFAS were used so widely by industries from metal coating to paper manufacturing the chemicals may have been in the sludge being spread for decades.

DNR researchers are still hesitant to link the contamination in Stella to any specific source.

"The DNR continues to collect information and evaluate potential sources, based on known common sources of PFAS, information provided by the public, and the data that has been collected to date," said Kyle Burton, the field operations director for the agency's Bureau of Drinking Water and Groundwater.

"PFAS in the environment may have multiple sources and it can take time to identify a potential source based on a variety of site-specific details. Additionally, it may not be possible to identify one single source of PFAS for the entire area."

But in Michigan, research has already been able to link biosolids application in some locations to PFAS contamination showing up in groundwater and private wells.

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Scott Dean, a communications advisor for Michigan's Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, said the state has been looking at biosolids as a source of PFAS since 2017. The state currently has a sampling effort underway for PFOS in biosolids, and PFOA will be sampled for starting next year.

Tim Gerdmann, another Stella resident, said he knows the investigation will likely take a while. But the lack of information from the state while that investigation has been frustrating.

"It's been radio silence, and that's the frustrating part," he said.

Gerdmann bought his home in Stella with the intent to knock it down and build a new structure. But those plans have been indefinitely on hold until the water situation is figured out.

For now, he and his wife have been figuring out how to water their garden and their chickens, both of which feed their family year-round. For now, family members helped them set up a rainwater capture system for the chickens, and another rain barrel gathers water for the garden. But there hasn't been much rain this year, leaving Gerdmann's garden smaller than in previous years.

"It's been very depressing," he said.

Other residents are feeling the frustration, too.

They worry that even if the contamination is being caused by biosolids, there isn't going to be help for them because they aren't getting water from a regulated water treatment plant.

PFAS in groundwater is not regulated in Wisconsin, though the DNR recently restarted the three-year process to set legally enforceable rules. But without regulation, nearly 1 million Wisconsin residents reliant on private wells lack protection against the chemicals in the drinking water in their homes, as well as access to resources that could help them combat the compounds.

While $125 million was recently set aside in a "PFAS trust fund" to help mitigate contamination issues, the residents in Stella are concerned that it will largely go to help large community water systems.

"We're just as important as they are," Pilat said.

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a family of man-made chemicals used for their water- and stain-resistant qualities in products like clothing and carpet, nonstick cookware, packaging and firefighting foam.

The family includes 5,000 compounds, which are persistent, remaining both in the environment and human body over time. The chemicals have been linked to types of kidney and testicular cancers, lower birth weights, harm to immune and reproductive systems, altered hormone regulation and altered thyroid hormones.

The chemicals enter the human body largely through drinking water. PFAS have been found across Wisconsin.

Laura Schulte can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter at @SchulteLaura.