PFAS Contamination in Minnesota — What You Need to Know

Yes. 3M Corporation manufactured PFOA and PFOS at its Cottage Grove facility for decades and disposed of PFAS-containing waste in ways that contaminated groundwater throughout the East Metro suburbs. 3M settled with the State of Minnesota for $897 million in 2018 — one of the largest corporate environmental settlements in US history — to fund treatment upgrades and alternative water connections for affected communities. 3M did not admit liability in the settlement but agreed to fund remediation. The contamination affected approximately 100,000 residents in Washington, Ramsey, Dakota, and Scott Counties.

It depends on which part of the metro and which utility you are on. The East Metro — Washington County communities like Oakdale, Woodbury, Lake Elmo, and Cottage Grove — had the most severe contamination. Many of these utilities have installed treatment using 3M settlement funds and now meet EPA MCLs. Minneapolis and St. Paul draw from the Mississippi River and have separate water systems — both have tested under UCMR5. Your Consumer Confidence Report has the specific PFAS data for your utility. For an extra layer of protection, an NSF P473 certified filter at your tap is recommended even if your utility is within limits.

In 2018, 3M settled with the State of Minnesota for $897 million to address the contamination of drinking water systems caused by its PFOA and PFOS manufacturing operations in Cottage Grove. The settlement funded replacement water connections for affected private well owners, treatment upgrades for public utilities in the East Metro, and a water supply protection fund managed by MPCA and MDH. 3M did not admit liability. It was one of the largest PFAS corporate settlements in US history at the time. Since then, larger national settlements have followed as other manufacturers were sued.

If you are in Washington, Ramsey, Dakota, or Scott County, contact Minnesota Department of Health at health.mn.gov — MDH has offered free or subsidized PFAS testing to private well owners in East Metro communities for years. If you are in other counties, mail-in testing through Tap Score or SimpleLab ($150-$300) is available statewide. MDH also maintains a directory of Minnesota-certified drinking water labs. If your well tests positive for PFAS above 10 ppt, MDH recommends connecting to a public water system where possible or installing an NSF P473 certified point-of-use filter.

The highest documented PFAS levels in Minnesota are in the East Metro: Oakdale, Lake Elmo, Woodbury, Cottage Grove, and surrounding Washington County communities. Some affected wells in these areas exceeded 1,000 ppt before treatment was installed — far above the old 70 ppt advisory and the current 4 ppt EPA MCL. The Arden Hills / New Brighton area in Ramsey County is also severely affected due to the TCAAP Superfund site combined with 3M contamination. Minneapolis and St. Paul have lower risk from public water but should still check Consumer Confidence Reports.