It had a very strong indication that Well 5 was pulling in river water, pulling contaminants directly from Cottage Grove.”

Public Works Director Ryan Stempski

For more information about the city of Hastings’ PFAS plan, visit https://www.hastingsmn.gov/city-government/city-departments/public-works-and-engineering/pfas

The Hastings Chamber of Commerce hosted a PFAS update on Wednesday, Nov. 20. The meeting walked through Hastings’ plans for addressing PFAS, how the city arrived at this point, and future plans for addressing the issue as the city prepares for construction of the first water treatment plant (WTP) next year.
Long before talk of the three WTPs that have since been decided upon as the best path forward to treat the PFAS in Hastings water, the city examined several other solutions. Public Works Director Ryan Stempski spoke to exploratory plans of drilling deeper wells, piping in water from Saint Paul and installing point of entry water treatment systems directly into homes. None of these solutions made financial sense, however, forcing the city of Hastings to begin planning to construct several WTPs with a price tag of some $68.9 million.
Interim solutions for residents in the five years it will take to construct three WTPs were difficult to pay for lacking funds from the 3M settlement fund. Stempski spoke to the city’s consideration of providing bottled water or treatment systems within homes calling these measures “budget busters,” which would cost the city more than triple the entire budget for city water. In the face of these costs, the city has moved forward with no interim solution for residents.
The first WTP was originally going to be constructed in the city industrial park starting in 2025. According to Stempski, the city had 60% of the design completed down to the 3D model of the interior when Hastings Well No. 5 was officially connected to the 3M dumping site in Cottage Grove and thus added to the 2018 3M settlement fund and fully funded. Due to this windfall, the city pivoted to building the WTP containing Well 5 first, what was initially known as the central WTP or WTP 2.
The city has ongoing geological surveys and water testing in order to prove a connection between city water contamination and the 3M dumping sites in Washington County. While the City of Hastings’ position has always been that the PFAS contamination in ground water is due to 3M dumping sites in Washington County, proving that claim has been difficult.
To prove Well 5’s contamination was connected to the 3M dumping site in Cottage Grove, geological surveys were undertaken that showed the existence of fault lines that crossed the Mississippi River. 3M had long said that despite evidence of PFAS appearing in groundwater, that its dumping would only affect communities on the same side of the Mississippi River. These fault lines argued differently: “There’s more to the story that what’s on the surface,” said Stempski. One such fault line ran directly from the 3M dumping site in Cottage Grove to Well 5 in Hastings.
Even with evidence of a passageway for water across the Mississippi River, the city continued to examine the water in Well 5 in order to provide more evidence of a connection to 3M. Based on studies from the composition of the water of Well 5, “It had a very strong indication that Well 5 was pulling in river water, pulling contaminants directly from Cottage Grove,” said Stempski.
In addition to the fault lines and the contaminants in Well 5 that led back to Cottage Grove, contaminants that were proprietary property of 3M were found in Well 5. Battery Electrolyte HQ-115 containing the anion bistrifluoromethanesulfonimide (TFSI) was found in Well 5. “It’s a very specific product only made in Minnesota, only made a 3M Cottage Grove,” said Stempski.
With all this evidence in hand, “this provided enough of the science for them to say ‘Well 5 is in. Well 5 is connected,’” said Stempski.
Due to this official connection and therefore funding, the City of Hastings plans on constructing the central WTP, or what was originally called WTP 2, first. On Monday, Nov. 18, the city council approved the purchase of 1290 N. Frontage Road, where Carbone’s Pizzeria is currently located, as the site for WTP 2. The site was chosen in part due to its proximity to the nitrate treatment facility and the ability to create a water treatment campus on the location between the two facilities.
The funding for Well 5 is expected to bring in some $14.5 million of the estimated $26.7 million cost of WTP 2, covering costs for the WTP itself like the structure, as well as the acquisition of land and funds to help move the businesses being displaced, but not connections to the other wells which have not been officially connected to 3M. Bidding for WTP 2 is expected to begin in the summer of 2025.
On Jan. 1, Hastings’ water rate will increase 10% to pay for the remaining costs of WTP 2. This rate hike is less than half of the original 37.3% rate increase that was expected before Well 5 was connected to the 3M settlement fund. Because the exact totals for costs and funds coming from 3M are still unclear, a second potential rate hike is set for July 1, 2025. According to City Administrator Dan Wietecha that second rate hike could range anywhere from another 10% to no raise at all. Lacking further funding for WTP 1 and 3, however, future water rate increases are currently expected to rise 35-40% each year in order to pay for these WTPs.
While residents are often the ones thought of with the water rate increases, local businesses face the same issue. Businesses that use lots of water like landscaping companies or breweries like Spiral Brewery could see spikes in operating costs due to increased water rates. Hastings Chamber of Commerce President Kristy Barse was clear about this point: “We are going to see businesses close over this.”
Wietecha spoke to a question he often receives in the face of water rate increases and a lack of funding from 3M which is why the city doesn’t wait for funding from 3M in order to construct WTPs. Wietecha’s answer is that “we don’t have a choice.” The EPA’s new standards must be met by April 2029, five years after being enacted. Failing to do so could lead to Hastings’ wells being shut down due to non-compliance. “Frankly it’s an unfunded mandate,” said Wietecha about the new EPA standards regarding PFAS.
Other sources of funding being considered by the city include both state and federal funding. The morning of the PFAS update, Wietecha and Stempski met with incoming Rep. Tom Dippel about funding from the state via a potential bonding bill. Wietecha also spoke to working with federal Rep. Angie Craig for congressionally directly spending for up to $1 million which is currently in the Appropriations Committee. Any of these funding sources including further connection to 3M would lessen the future water rate increases.
The current schedule for construction of WTPs in Hastings is WTP 2 to begin construction at the Carbone’s site in 2025 and last until 2026, WTP 1 to begin construction in the industrial park in 2026 and last until 2027, and WTP 3 to begin construction at the lot south of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church along General Sieben Drive in 2027 and be completed in 2028. The deadline set by the EPA for these new standards is April 2029.
For more information about the city of Hastings’ PFAS plan, visit https://www.hastingsmn.gov/city-government/city-departments/public-works-and-engineering/pfas