Money from Minnesota’s settlement with 3M over “forever chemicals” will soon be available for natural resources projects in the east Twin Cities metro.
Under the 2018 settlement, Maplewood-based 3M agreed to pay the state $850 million for contamination from PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
3M produced the chemicals at its Cottage Grove facility and disposed of them in landfills, where they leached into the groundwater. Two types of PFAS, which 3M phased out of production in the early 2000s, have been linked to negative health impacts including liver and thyroid disease and cancer.
The majority of the settlement, about $700 million, was designated for providing safe drinking water to residents in east metro communities affected by PFAS pollution, including building new treatment plants and connecting homes with private wells to municipal drinking water systems.
But $20 million was set aside for enhancing water resources, wildlife habitat and outdoor recreational opportunities in the east metro. Seven years after the settlement, that funding is finally ready to be distributed.
While the first rollout of settlement money focused on treating PFAS in drinking water or providing residents with an alternate water source, the second phase won’t aim to remove the chemicals from the environment.
Instead, it’s compensation for the damage PFAS have caused to natural resources, including waterways, fish and wildlife, said Randall Doneen, a water resources section manager at the state Department of Natural Resources.
“It’s trying to make up for or to compensate for the injury that occurred from the (PFAS) releases,” Doneen said.
The most visible impact of PFAS contamination on natural resources has been fish consumption advisories on a number of Minnesota lakes and rivers, including stretches of the Mississippi River, Bde Maka Ska, Lake Elmo and Lake Harriet in the Twin Cities.
The science is still developing on PFAS’ impacts on wildlife, Doneen said.
“Because of its persistence, it can accumulate into those organisms that are higher on the food chain, that are eating the organisms that have taken it up in smaller amounts,” he said.
Doneen said he expects the DNR to issue a request for proposals in early February, and award the money later this year.
Local governments, state and federal agencies, tribes, watershed districts and nonprofits are among those eligible to apply for funding. Businesses and individuals are not eligible.
Money from the settlement will be available for three different types of projects: restoring fish and wildlife habitat, adding fishing opportunities and enhancing recreation. Examples could include restoring a degraded stream, adding a fishing pier or improving parks and trails, Doneen said.
“We’re excited to get this out, and we hope to get a lot of applications in, and be able to put a lot of this money out on the river and the streets to do good work,” he said.
The project area includes parts of Washington, Ramsey and Dakota counties, and downstream areas of the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers.
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However, PFAS contamination isn’t contained to the east metro. Since the 2018 settlement, scientific knowledge of the impacts of PFAS on human health and the environment have been growing, Doneen said.
“Even at the time, we probably knew that while the settlement was good, it certainly isn’t going to resolve the issue statewide,” he said.
A new state law banning the sale and distribution of cookware, rugs and other products containing PFAS took effect on Jan. 1. It aims to reduce the chemicals’ exposure to consumers and their release into the environment.
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