As 3M settlement money dwindles, east metro cities still have millions in water treatment costs

That agreement, known as the 2007 consent order, charged 3M with paying for projects like the treatment of certain PFAS-tinged wells, freeing up more money for remediation.

But, the email continued, “Unfortunately, at this time 3M objects.”

According to the email, 3M approached the MPCA and the state Department of Natural Resources, the two agencies charged with managing the settlement, with an update:

The company didn’t believe the drinking water treatment projects those agencies selected for 3M funding were “reasonable and necessary” under the consent order’s spending priorities. And it had initiated mediation to resolve the dispute.

“The MPCA and DNR are confident in the selection of projects,” the message read. “But we cannot promise what the transition process will look like so long as 3M’s dispute remains active.”

The update concerned Ryan Burfeind, Cottage Grove’s public works director. Levels of PFAS exceed state-set limits in all 12 of the city’s wells, and two 3M-funded treatment plants are on the way. (Temporary plants currently provide residents with clean water, Burfeind noted.)