COTTAGE GROVE, Minn. — When it comes to PFAS pollution, Cottage Grove considers itself ground zero.
The city is currently building a $39 million water treatment plant, and that's just the start.
In 2027, there are plans to build a second treatment plant, which the state has earmarked $100 million for.
The upkeep of swapping the granular activated carbon and having maintenance and staff costs another several million, but at least they have a way to pay for it.
"We are part of the known contamination from 3M," said Cottage Grove Public Works Director Ryan Burfeind. "We're not fortunate to have this issue. We are fortunate to have the 3M settlement funds, no question."
The state and 3M agreed on an $850 million dollar settlement for dumping flourochemicals like PFAS in the east metro contaminating drinking water. The money is being used by more than a dozen cities and townships in the east metro as they plan for a future inside the PFAS pollution plume.
"We're not going to be able to clean our way out of this,"
A recent study by the MPCA revealed it costs $50 to $1,000 per pound for companies to buy PFAS to use in products. That same pound of PFAS costs anywhere from $3 million to $18 million to clean out of wastewater.
Twenty years of cleanup in Minnesota is expected to cost between $14 and $28 billion. The MPCA says source reduction is critical.
"Let's stop using it. Let's stop creating more problems before we can fix those problems that are already out there," said MPCA Assistant Commissioner Kirk Koudelka.
Right now, there are seven wells in Cottage Grove-each with a temporary PFAS treatment facility ensuring the water is safe to drink. When the permanent facility is done, they'll move the expensive equipment to its permanent home.
PFAS is still manufactured at 3M's plant in Cottage Grove, but the company says it is on track to meet its goal to exit PFAS manufacturing by the end of 2025. 3M says it has reduced PFAS manufacturing volumes by more than 20% year over year, and cut how much PFAS it puts into U.S. water by more than 92% compared to 2019 baselines.
Right now, 3M is building a state-of-the-art facility to filter out PFAS from waste and storm water before it hits the Mississippi.
The company tells us, to its knowledge, it's the most advanced pfas treatment system in the world.
3M says it will invest $300 million into water treatment at its plant in Cottage Grove, $1 billion globally at their largest water-using locations and $12.5 billion over the next 13 years to clean up public water supplies across the country.
While Cottage Grove has a plan in place, there are worries the settlement funds won't be enough.
"Certainly all communities in the east metro have concerns about that," said Burfeind.
He says he gets calls and visits from communities around the country hoping to follow this blueprint.
"We've been dealing with it for 17 years now. We want to do what we can to be a resource pass on what we've learned and hopefully help them as they go through their journey," said Burfeind.
Erin Hassanzadeh
Erin is back home in the Twin Cities after stops in South Korea and Omaha. The Jefferson High School grad (Go Jags!) is excited to get back to storytelling in the community that raised her.
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