The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)’s draft wastewater permit for the 3M facility at Cottage Grove, released July 1, adds new water quality protections for the Mississippi River and …
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The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)’s draft wastewater permit for the 3M facility at Cottage Grove, released July 1, adds new water quality protections for the Mississippi River and improves accountability through monitoring and reporting requirements. The draft permit is one of the most rigorous in state history and mandates the removal of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to levels below detection. An advanced PFAS treatment system will be used to achieve this.
3M’s Cottage Grove facility treats its wastewater and stormwater before discharging it into a creek that flows into the Mississippi River. Discharge can exceed 15 million gallons per day. The federal Clean Water Act, state rule, and MPCA’s permit determine what is allowed in that water, monitoring requirements, reporting, and other environmental protections.
“Forever chemicals have no place in any lake or river. The MPCA is committed to using all our authorities toward this end,” said MPCA Commissioner Katrina Kessler. “This permit is an opportunity to leverage the latest science, technology, and regulations on PFAS to require 3M do even more to keep PFAS out of the Mississippi River.”
The draft permit, which is over 400 pages long, requires 3M to limit pollutants in wastewater and stormwater to levels that protect aquatic life and human health based on the latest science — including levels of certain PFAS so low that they cannot be detected with today’s technology. It is the latest in a series of actions taken by the state to hold 3M accountable and protect human health and the environment from PFAS, which 3M has manufactured at the site since the 1950s. In addition to PFAS, the draft permit also addresses over 70 other contaminant types and water quality metrics.
Complying with the draft permit relies on the use of an advanced PFAS wastewater treatment system that 3M is currently building on site. This system will remove PFAS and other contaminants from industrial wastewater, stormwater, and groundwater. The filtration process involves granular-activated carbon, reverse osmosis, and ion-exchange resins. 3M is responsible for the wastewater treatment system’s construction and operation. The MPCA is overseeing the system’s construction and will closely monitor its effectiveness.
The draft permit also requires 3M to expand the number of locations, frequency, and accuracy of contamination monitoring efforts in groundwater, the Mississippi River, and aquatic life. This monitoring data will be public information.
New federal regulations and PFAS water quality criteria finalized in May 2024 make such a protective permit possible. Public comments will shape the MPCA’s final permit and are an important part of the permitting process.
More information, comment period, public meetings
To create opportunity for people to ask questions and understand the draft permit, the MPCA will host both a virtual and in-person public meeting.
The MPCA will conduct an extended 45-day public comment period. Submit comments via the MPCA public comment webpage (https://mpca.commentinput.com/?id=UTJhY6ApE) from July 1 to Aug. 15. Comments also can be submitted by U.S. Mail: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency c/o Emily Schnick, 520 Lafayette Road North, St. Paul, MN 55155.
More information about the draft permit, site history, public meetings, email list, and making comments is available on MPCA’s 3M Cottage Grove wastewater permit webpage at https://www.pca.state.mn.us/3Mpermit.
