MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Environmental regulators can’t unilaterally force polluters to clean up contamination from so-called forever chemicals without going through the Legislature to establish specific limits on the compounds, a state appellate court ruled Wednesday.

The 2nd District Court of Appeals’ decision all but eliminates the Department of Natural Resources’ authority to unilaterally mandate reporting PFAS contamination in groundwater and force responsible parties to clean it up. If the decision stands, the DNR will now wait for legislators to impose groundwater limits on PFAS through state law or an administrative rule. Both approaches can take years.

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