Name: Historic 3M settlement to pay for 72 miles of Washington County water mains, wells, plants
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Historic 3M settlement to pay for 72 miles of Washington County water mains, wells, plants

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By | Pioneer PressA $700 million wave of water-project funding is ready to wash into Washington County — for wells, filtering plants and 72 miles of water pipe.An official recommendation calls for an unprecedented flood of money to help cities deal with polluting chemicals manufactured by the 3M Co.It calls for building six water-filtering plants, five new public wells, and connecting the water systems of Woodbury, Newport and Lake Elmo.West Lakeland Township — which has never had city-wide water — would get an entire system with two wells, a treatment plant and pipes delivering water to 1,190 homes.The state Pollution Control Agency announced in September that a “preferred option” had been chosen, and more recently released the details of the plan to the affected cities.Assistant Commissioner Kirk Koudelka said that, if approved, the work on the projects will begin after two other phases of a multi-year, step-by-step process. No timetable for the projects has been set, he said.The money is part of $850 million that . After legal expenses, $700 million remains.The Minnesota Attorney General sued 3M in 2010 for damaging the environment with chemicals called PFCs, or perfluorochemicals. According to the terms of the 2018 settlement, the money must be spent to improve water quality and enhance natural resources.To help advise how to spend the money, the state organized two advisory committees — the government and 3M Working Group, and the Citizen-Business Advisory Group. In September, the PCA and the Department of Natural Resources&nbsp;The agencies also identified two other options, with relatively minor differences in initial capital costs and long-term costs. &nbsp;Option 3 would connect Oakdale and Lake Elmo to St. Paul’s water, which comes from the Mississippi River.This month, government units and the advisory committees are reviewing details of the preferred plan, which include:The $700 million clean-up will be a milestone in 3M’s 70-year history of the chemicals.3M invented PFCs in the 1940s and manufactured them in its plant in Cottage Grove. They were used in household products including non-stick cookware, fire extinguishers and stain repellant.It disposed of the chemicals in sites in Oakdale, Lake Elmo, Woodbury and Cottage Grove, ending in the 1970s.The chemicals leaked into groundwater, where they were discovered in 2004.That alarmed officials because mega-doses of the chemicals can cause thyroid problems, birth defects and cancer in laboratory animals — although they have never been proven to cause any health problems in humans.Traces of the chemicals — measured in parts per trillion — have been found around the world. But it was the discovery of PFCs in local groundwater, the Mississippi River and area lakes that led to the Attorney General’s lawsuit.Assistant Commissioner Koudelka said Thursday that advisory groups want to hear reactions from the public and the comment period has been extended until Dec. 10. To submit comments about recommended options for the $700 million, go to .We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.Sign up for Newsletters and AlertsFollow UsMost PopularClose

By | Pioneer PressA $700 million wave of water-project funding is ready to wash into Washington County — for wells, filtering plants and 72 miles of water pipe.An official recommendation calls for an unprecedented flood of money to help cities deal with polluting chemicals manufactured by the 3M Co.It calls for building six water-filtering plants, five new public wells, and connecting the water systems of Woodbury, Newport and Lake Elmo.West Lakeland Township — which has never had city-wide water — would get an entire system with two wells, a treatment plant and pipes delivering water to...

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Bob Shaw

Twin Cities news, sports, politics, entertainment and business from the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minnesota's first newspaper.

Historic 3M settlement to pay for 72 miles of Washington County water mains, wells, plants

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