| ST. PAUL, Minn. — Public comments from more than 35,000 individuals calling on the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to prohibit 3M from discharging toxic PFAS chemicals into the Mississippi River were submitted Friday. Although 3M has pledged to get out of the PFAS business, a draft state permit would allow the massive manufacturing company to continue releasing some “forever chemicals” from its facility in Cottage Grove, Minnesota.
“The mighty Mississippi is no place for PFAS,” said John Rumpler, clean water director for Environment America Research & Policy Center, who submitted the comments to MPCA. “We urge Minnesota officials to protect the millions of Americans downstream who depend on this river from toxic forever chemicals.”
Even at very low levels, per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, more commonly known as PFAS, are linked to a range of health problems, including kidney cancer, reproductive risks, reduced vaccine response and more.
While the draft state permit does limit discharges of three common PFAS to near non-detectable levels, it would allow 3M to release large volumes of three other forever chemicals – PFBA, PFBS, and PFHxA. And there are no limits in the draft permit for other types of PFAS – including HFPO-DA and PFNA – that have been detected in 3M’s facility wastewater.
Since 1947, 3M has operated its facility in Cottage Grove, where the groundwater has been contaminated with PFAS. The 3M facility releases up to 6 million gallons of wastewater and stormwater per day, and a recent investigation found 36 toxic substances in fish from the Mississippi River downstream from that facility.
In December of 2022, 3M announced that it would end the manufacture of all PFAS and “[w]ork to discontinue use of PFAS across our product portfolio” by the end of 2025. In 2023, the company entered a $10 billion settlement to resolve claims of PFAS contaminating drinking water.
The comments submitted by Environment America Research and Policy Center came from activists in Minnesota and across the country.
The 3M permit marks the first time that Minnesota officials will set numeric limits for PFAS releases into waterways – setting a potential precedent for other permits. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has yet to set national pollution control standards for all PFAS, as urged by Environment America Research and Policy Center, PIRG and other groups.
“The pouring of PFAS has persisted for far too long at 3M,” said Rumpler, who also co-authored the group’s report on The Threat of Forever Chemicals. “It’s time for Minnesota officials to turn off the toxic tap.” |
