Settlement with 3M leads to $700 Million Plan to Clean Up Water in Twin Cities Suburbs
A developing outcome of the $850 million Settlement 3M agreed to pay is a long-term $700 million plan to clean up drinking water in the eastern Twin Cities suburbs.
Minnesota sued 3M, a Maplewood, Minnesota based company, back in 2010 over the company’s practices of chemical dumping. 3M disputed the allegations, but settled with the state for $850 million in 2018 in hopes of working with Minnesota to improve water quality.
State officials from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Department of Natural Resources have now announced, as part of the $700 million plan, three potential long-term solutions to the water quality issues in the eastern suburbs of the Twin Cities. Each of the three drinking water options proposes building and maintaining city wells or treatment plants and providing homes with in-home filters or hookups to municipal water sources. The plan would be implemented in a 150-square mile area where ground water is alleged to contain “PFAS.” PFAS are chemical compounds that have a lasting impact on ground water. Minnesota suburbs such as Cottage Grove and Lake Elmo have been affected.
All three options are available for review to all residents of the Twin Cities through the website created to provide information regarding the 3M settlement. That website can be found here: https://3msettlement.state.mn.us/
Sources:
https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2020/09/11/east-metro-water-plan-3m-settlement.html