In January 2025, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) released the “PFAS removal report” (2025 report or the Report) which focuses on strategies to manage per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in drinking water and wastewater in Minnesota. The Report, which was mandated by 2024 Session Law, Chapter 116, Article 2, Sec. 29, expands on the work described in the published report “Fee collection options for PFAS manufacturers in Minnesota” (2024 report).
The Report recommends identifying a fee revenue target, either a specific dollar amount or list of recommended strategies to be covered by the fee revenue, then developing a process to assign a fee by splitting it up amongst the universe of fee payers (i.e. PFAS manufacturers, users and releasers), rather than setting a specific fee structure in statute. The fee could be paid equally regardless of how much PFAS is manufactured, used, or released, or paid pro rata based on the amount of PFAS each company manufactures, uses or releases.
The Report focuses on two primary objectives in fee collection: 1) funding safe drinking water and 2) preventing PFAS in wastewater.
- Funding Safe Drinking Water. Because fee collection may not cover both drinking water and wastewater treatment, the Report recommends focusing on addressing contamination in drinking water first by implementing strategies or fee mechanisms to require companies that manufacture, use or release PFAS to pay for the cost of providing safe drinking water to individuals affected by PFAS contamination. This approach aims to hold responsible companies financial responsibility for contamination mitigation, rather than the public or local governments. Immediate action recommendations include private well sampling, and delivering bottled water while more long-term solutions would be private well monitoring, installing in-home treatment (point-of-entry treatment systems and point-of-use systems), treatment at water treatment systems, hooking up private well users into community water systems where possible, and regionalization of drinking water treatment or delivery. The minimum funding goal would cover costs of infrastructure at community water systems with known PFAS contamination (approximately $163.3 million) with any additional fees put towards wastewater treatment.
- Preventing PFAS in Wastewater. The Report suggests pretreatment to prevent PFAS from entering municipal wastewater facilities, which includes requiring companies to either prevent or remove PFAS from influent waters before they reach these facilities, thereby reducing the need for costly treatment processes. Alternatively, companies could be mandated to cover the expenses associated with treating and disposing of PFAS from municipal wastewater effluent.
The overarching goal is to hold PFAS-related companies accountable for contamination and to protect public health and the environment. More detailed information and the full Report is available on the MPCA’s website here.
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