Report: Wausau bears responsibility for PFAS testing at 1300 Cleveland Ave.

Damakant Jayshi

The saga surrounding property on Cleveland Avenue continues with Wausau officials once again found to be fudging facts related the city-owned property, this time over the city’s responsibility toward monitoring and cleanup of groundwater at the site.

Public Works Director Eric Lindman’s reports to city leaders have been found to be contradictory and inaccurate, under questioning from Dist. 3 Alder Tom Kilian. In his emails, Lindman confirmed that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said further investigation of PFAS contamination at 1300 Cleveland Ave. was warranted, but also claimed that “the city is not required to move ahead with this request.”

Kilian told Wausau Pilot & Review that statements from the DNR and the city’s consultant show that these assertions from Lindman are not accurate.

Despite Lindman’s statement, a portion of his email clearly showed the agency is requiring the city to investigate. As Wausau Pilot & Review previously reported, the DNR said the next step for the site is defining the extent of PFAS contamination in groundwater, which will likely require installing off-site monitoring wells.

The Public Works director has also said the city has already fully investigated this site in accordance with the DNR’ approved work plan. He added the DNR’s request is “beyond the scope of the original [plan] and is beyond the scope of the original Responsible Party Letter.” 

However, GEI Consultants, city’s engineering and environmental consulting firm, and the DNR’s Hydrologist, Matt Thompson who were present at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, refuted that statement.

Michael DeBraske, project manager at GEI Consultants, said if the DNR issued a responsible party letter, the city is bound to address that. Thompson said the investigation at the site is required and the department is willing to work with the city on how to move forward.

This follows a September correspondence in which Thompson wrote to Debraske and Roger Miller, copying Lindman, pointing out an exceedance of state DHS proposed groundwater standards in a second round of samples.

Lincman also claimed that pursuing such delineation and testing would likely cost “$250,000 or more just for the investigation,” according to city documents. But Kilian and GEI representatives challenged that estimate as well and said the cost of continued monitoring at the site would be between $10,000 and $15,000. Additional costs for wells ranged from $45,000 to $65,000, and Debraske said he couldn’t say where Lindman’s figures came from.

Kilian pushed back against the GEI report’s claim that there is no risk at the site since there is no potable water there based on its proximity to the Wisconsin River. He also said according to another GEI report, there was a natural discharge in the area and said that any attempt to avoid cleanup at the property would not be acceptable to him and his constituents.

If the property gets a clean chit, it will likely be used for redevelopment.

Alder Lisa Rasmussen said that there is no point in redeveloping the property and wasting city’s money until they have figured out how to do the cleanup. She added “we have barely scratched the surface on PFAS,” noting that the toxic compound was not limited to the site. Rasmussen said the city should work together with the DNR to address the problem.

Questions sent to Lindman returned an auto reply saying he would be out of office until Dec. 27.