# MPCA *Minnesota state environmental regulatory agency; administrator of the Closed Landfill Program and of the State's 3M PFAS settlement funds.* The **Minnesota Pollution Control Agency** (MPCA) is the [[Minnesota]] state agency that monitors environmental conditions, enforces the state's environmental rules, and gives technical and financial help. It was established on May 18, 1967.[^1] The agency's own website traces its history to the Minnesota Water Pollution Control Commission.[^2] The cached Wikipedia article describes its work as including locating and cleaning up spills and leaks that endanger public health and the environment.[^1] The documented record in the East Metro PFAS matter sits beside that description. The agency's Closed Landfill Program record states that the [[Washington County Landfill]], permitted May 12, 1969, "was under public ownership when in operation."[^3] From 1981 the agency aerated contaminated groundwater at the site.[^4][^3] The [[Minnesota Department of Health]] records that 3M disclosed its PFAS disposal locations to MPCA in 2002–2004.[^5] Trial exhibits show MPCA requesting information on 3M's Oakdale disposal in 1979 and 1980.[^6][^7] The State's $850 million settlement with 3M designates MPCA and/or the DNR to use the funds and establishes a [[Working Group]] that includes 3M.[^8] Outside the East Metro, the agency's news release records a $14,000 penalty against [[Xcel Energy]] on December 14, 2023, for unpermitted tritiated-water storage at [[Monticello]].[^9] An environmental advocacy group reports that the Minnesota Supreme Court found MPCA violated the law in its handling of EPA concerns about the PolyMet water permit.[^10] The agency's Citizens' Board was created in 1967 and eliminated in 2015. The project's catalogue counts the board as one of two entries in its audited "removed" column across fifty-five years.[^11] ## Who - The settlement instrument in *State of Minnesota v. 3M Company* names three parties: the State by its Attorney General, the MPCA Commissioner and the DNR Commissioner. No county appears on it.[^8] - Paragraph 17 of the settlement establishes a Working Group "consisting of representatives of the MPCA, the DNR, East Metropolitan Area municipalities, and 3M."[^8] - Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) states that the MPCA Commissioner during the PFAS discovery years, Sheryl [[Corrigan]], was a former 3M executive.[^12] - PEER's account covers Fardin Oliaei, who joined MPCA in 1989 and coordinated its emerging-contaminants program. According to that account, she was disciplined for speaking to the press, a federal suit was filed on August 18, 2005, and the State paid her $325,000 to resign effective February 2, 2006. Minnesota Public Radio covered the matter at the time.[^12][^13] - The [[Star Tribune]] reports that the final allocation of the settlement was announced by MPCA Commissioner Peter Tester in August 2021.[^14] - MPCA Assistant Commissioner Kirk Koudelka appeared before [[Minnesota Senate]] committees on April 12, 2023, on the Monticello tritium leak, the Star Tribune reported.[^15] - The Legislative Reference Library keeps an agency record for the MPCA Citizens' Board.[^11] The project's validated masters record the board as created in 1967 and deleted in 2015, and describe it as "a check over a regulator, deleted."[^11] ## What - The Closed Landfill Program record covers the Washington County Landfill. It describes a 35-acre site holding roughly 2,570,000 cubic yards, operated by Washington and Ramsey Counties.[^3] - The agency identifies four East Metro sites: 3M Oakdale, 3M Woodbury, 3M Cottage Grove (Chemolite) and the Washington County Landfill. It states that disposal occurred "from the 1950s through the early 1970s." The county landfill is handled under the state Closed Landfill Program rather than Superfund.[^16] - The [[2007 Consent Order]] made 3M responsible for safe drinking water and site cleanup, according to an MPCA presentation.[^17] - The agency publishes program pages on several subjects: - [[Environmental justice]] legislation[^18] - the Clean Water Fund[^19] - the Clean Water Council[^20] - Inflation Reduction Act climate grants[^21] - the regulatory framework in its *Minnesota Stormwater Manual*[^22] - The Monticello penalty concerned aboveground temporary storage tanks used in the tritiated-water cleanup. According to the agency's release: - In March 2023, MPCA identified 1 million gallons of capacity as the threshold requiring a major-facility permit. - Xcel began filling a new tank in early April 2023, before it obtained the permit. - That brought total temporary capacity to roughly 1.4 million gallons.[^9] - The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy's account of the PolyMet ruling is titled *MN Supreme Court finds MPCA violated law when it suppressed EPA concerns with PolyMet water permit*.[^10] - Pioneer Press reporting, republished on May 24, 2026, states that MPCA filed a new suit against 3M in Washington County District Court.[^23] - As reported, the suit alleges continuing PFAS contamination of groundwater and the [[Mississippi River]] from [[Cottage Grove]]. - It seeks civil penalties, expanded groundwater extraction, injunctive relief and natural resource damages. - It takes the position that the 2018 release does not bar the claims because the contamination at issue was discovered in 2020. - No docket number appears in the pack.[^23] ## When - **May 18, 1967**: the agency is established.[^1] - **May 12, 1969 – May 1, 1975**: the Washington County Landfill is permitted and operated.[^3] - **Late 1970s – early 1980s**: MPCA and the EPA sample lakes for acid-rain sensitivity.[^1] - **June 25, 1979**: 3M responds to an MPCA request for information on Oakdale disposal (exhibit PTX1211).[^6] - **June 5, 1980**: MPCA writes to 3M requesting a detailed breakdown of 3M wastes disposed, or likely disposed, at the Oakdale dumpsite (exhibit PTX1232).[^7] - **1981**: MPCA begins aerating contaminated groundwater at the county landfill.[^4][^3] - **1982**: the Acid Deposition Control Act is enacted under Governor [[Al Quie]], giving MPCA research and regulatory authority over acid rain.[^1] - **October 24, 1984**: MPCA enters a Response Order by Consent for the county landfill.[^3] - **January 16, 1992**: EPA issues a CERCLA § 106(a) Administrative Order for the site. It is amended February 17, 1993, followed by a Notice of Compliance on January 8, 1996. The EPA order is terminated March 15, 1996.[^3] - **1986**: MPCA issues emission-limit recommendations in early 1986. A judge certifies its findings in June, and the regulations become law in August.[^1] - **2002**: the health-based value for PFOA is 7 µg/L.[^5] - **2002–2004**: 3M discloses the PFAS disposal locations to MPCA.[^5] - **2004**: seven Lake Elmo wells near the former county landfill test positive for PFOA.[^5] - **2007**: the Consent Order is entered.[^17] - **2008–2012**: 3M performs excavations under the Consent Order.[^17] - **2015**: the Citizens' Board is eliminated.[^11] - **2018**: MPCA forms its East Metro Unit to address the 3M PFAS releases.[^1] - **January 2024**: the PFOA health-based value is set at 0.0000079 µg/L.[^5] - **2024**: MPCA plans its first full-length test of the Mississippi within Minnesota, covering about 650 miles.[^1] - **Second half of calendar year 2027**: the Working Group's Fall 2025 notes estimate a return to the 2007 Consent Order "to be in the second half of calendar year 2027."[^24] ## Where - MPCA states that the East Metro contamination spans "more than 150 square miles" and affects the drinking water of "more than 140,000 Minnesotans."[^16] - The 2004 PFOA detections were in [[Lake Elmo]], near the former county landfill.[^5] - FY2026 plans for Afton, Maplewood, Grey Cloud Island and St. Paul Park include "POET installation and private well sealing under Washington County program."[^25] - As of Fall 2025: - Cottage Grove and Oakdale were on temporary systems. - Woodbury and Hastings projects were under construction and over budget.[^24] - In the acid-rain work, the most sensitive lakes were concentrated in Itasca, Lake, Pine and St. Louis counties. MPCA attributed most of the relevant emissions to other states and Canadian provinces.[^1] ## Why - At the April 12, 2023 hearing, Koudelka testified that regulators waited for complete information before announcing the Monticello leak. - At the same hearing, Xcel's Minnesota president, Christopher Clark, testified that the public should have been notified earlier, saying "We have definitely learned lessons."[^15] - For the East Metro, the record shows three things: the 1981 aeration remedy, the agency's 1979–1980 requests to 3M about Oakdale, and 3M's 2002–2004 disclosure of disposal locations. It does not establish the reasons for that sequence.[^4][^6][^5] ## How - **Aeration remedy.** The agency's remedy at the county landfill was to pump contaminated groundwater and aerate it to strip volatile organics.[^4] - A former MPCA hydrogeologist, Mark Toso, described the result to the *Minnesota Reformer*: "You're blasting this stuff into the air." - The Reformer reports that PFAS was detected in a Lake Elmo family's well in 2006. - It also reports that a $247,000 city-water estimate was declined and a $2,500 carbon filter offered.[^4] - **Information requests.** The 1979–1980 correspondence ran from MPCA to 3M as requests for information.[^6][^7] - PTX1211 is from 3M (M. Santoro) to MPCA (J. Harthum). - PTX1232 is from MPCA (Michael B. Ayers) to 3M (Russell H. Susag). - **Settlement terms.** The settlement sets out the following:[^8] - ¶ 13 places the $850 million Grant into the "3M Grant for Water Quality and Sustainability Fund," payable within fifteen days of the Effective Date. - ¶ 14 designates MPCA and/or DNR to use the funds, with spending priorities at ¶ 14.A–C. - ¶ 25 designates Judge Burke as "Consensual Special Magistrate" upon retirement. - **If settlement money runs out.** MPCA states that "the 2007 Consent Order will remain in place." However, the Consent Order "only covers costs for wells that meet or exceed MDH's established health index," whereas settlement funds treat wells at 0.5 of that index. 3M remains obligated to continue investigating groundwater at Oakdale.[^26] - **Dispute over projects.** The Star Tribune reports that 3M is contesting whether certain projects meet the "reasonable and necessary" standard under the 2007 Consent Order.[^27] ## How much - **Settlement total.** The State recovered $850 million from 3M.[^8] - **Allocation.** The final allocation, as reported, was:[^14] | Purpose | Amount | |---|---| | Drinking water | $700 million | | Outside legal counsel, assessments and analysis | $125 million | | Expedited projects | $34 million | | Natural resource remediation | $20 million | | Agency cost reimbursement | $4.8 million | - **Conflicting reimbursement figure.** MPCA's own 2019 presentation records $125 million plus $4.5 million reimbursing 2017 costs, while the Star Tribune gives $4.8 million for agency cost reimbursement.[^17][^14] - **Outside counsel fee.** Bloomberg Law reports that the $125 million fee to [[Covington]] was about 14% of the recovery, under a contingency arrangement reached in 2010. At a March 5, 2018 House Ways and Means hearing, Rep. Sarah Anderson said: "I'm just curious as to why we are paying a law firm $125 million for seven years of work."[^28] - **Community project funding.** The FY2025 legislative report records the following, for a total of $369,316,077 in key projects:[^29] | Community | Amount | |---|---| | Woodbury | $251,960,201 | | Cottage Grove | $110,224,231 | | Lake Elmo | $2,353,000 | | Newport | $1,918,950 | | Hastings | $1,440,500 | - **Original budget and overruns.** The 2021 plan's capital budget was $276 million.[^30] By Fall 2025, the Working Group's notes record:[^24] - cumulative capital commitments of $515 million; - estimated need of $575 million by the end of FY2026; - a capital shortfall of about $26 million; - about $137 million projected unobligated at the end of FY2026. - **Agency assessment.** MPCA's annual review states that "project costs have generally exceeded the costs estimated in the conceptual plan."[^25] - **News reporting on the fund.** The Star Tribune reports that the fund "could run out by 2027," a date MPCA calls "a conservative estimate." It also reports that Hastings needs $68.9 million for three plants against $14 million received, with water-rate increases to cover roughly $54.9 million.[^27] - **Sampling cost.** 2025 sampling cost $1,010,821 from settlement funds.[^31] - **2007 Consent Order grants.** The order included an $8 million grant for Washington County Landfill remediation and a $5 million grant for statewide PFAS studies.[^17] - **2026 suit.** It seeks civil penalties of up to $30,000 per violation per day. 3M's reported response cites a $300 million wastewater project.[^23] ## How many - **Private wells, since 2003** (MPCA's March 2026 legislative report):[^31] - 8,976 well samples collected, 1,101 of them in 2025; - 3,165 advisories issued, 1,137 of them in 2025, including 330 that came from re-evaluating historical data against 2024 guidance; - 1,504 treatment systems installed or maintained. - **Municipal wells.** The Star Tribune reports that all 12 Cottage Grove wells exceed PFAS limits and all six Hastings wells exceed EPA limits.[^27] - **Acid-rain survey.** MPCA and the EPA sampled 1,842 lakes, of which 474 proved sensitive to acid rain.[^1] - **Outfalls.** The 2026 suit, as reported, identifies 47 industrial and stormwater outfalls.[^23] - **Excavated material.** 3M disposed of over 100,000 cubic yards of excavated material in a dedicated cell at the SKB Industrial Landfill.[^17] ## In the at-issue record - **Ownership of the landfill.** The record pairs the agency's own Closed Landfill Program record of public ownership and county operation of the Washington County Landfill with the history of the site.[^3] - **Parties to the settlement.** It pairs Washington County's role as owner of the landfill with the settlement instrument, on which the county is not a party. The release runs to the State.[^8] - **The Working Group.** It notes that 3M sits on the Working Group that advises on use of 3M's settlement money.[^8] - **The 1981 remedy.** It sets the 1981 aeration remedy beside the later spread of contamination into private wells.[^4][^3] - **The PFAS discovery years.** It sets the PEER account of the Commissioner and the emerging-contaminants scientist against the Department of Health's dating of the 2002–2004 disclosure window.[^12][^5] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Minnesota Pollution Control Agency* (rev. 1369371990, retrieved October 27, 2026) — functions; creation May 18, 1967; East Metro Unit 2018; 2024 Mississippi testing plan; 1982 Acid Deposition Control Act, lake sampling and 1986 regulations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Pollution_Control_Agency [^2]: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, *About MPCA* (n.d.) — Minnesota Water Pollution Control Commission history. https://www.pca.state.mn.us/about-mpca/about-us [^3]: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, *Closed Landfill Program record, Washington County Landfill* (State's trial exhibit PTX2752, *State of Minnesota v. 3M*) — permit, operating dates, acreage, volume, public ownership, county operators, 1984 consent order, 1992–1996 EPA order history. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Cases/3M/docs/PTX/PTX2752.pdf [^4]: *Minnesota Reformer*, *Lake Elmo family has been fighting 17 years for city water after state pushed PFAS into their well* (October 2, 2023) — spray aeration from 1981; Toso quotation; 2006 detection; $247,000 estimate; $2,500 filter. https://minnesotareformer.com/2023/10/02/lake-elmo-family-has-been-fighting-17-years-for-city-water-after-state-pushed-pfas-into-their-well/ [^5]: Minnesota Department of Health, *History of MDH PFAS activities* (n.d.) — 2002–2004 disclosure of disposal locations; 2004 Lake Elmo wells; PFOA health-based values 2002–2024. https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/hazardous/topics/history.html [^6]: 3M to Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, *Letter, exhibit PTX1211* (June 25, 1979) — response to MPCA request for information on Oakdale disposal. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Cases/3M/docs/PTX/PTX1211.pdf [^7]: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to 3M, *Letter, exhibit PTX1232* (June 5, 1980) — request for breakdown of 3M wastes disposed at the Oakdale dumpsite. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Cases/3M/docs/PTX/PTX1232.pdf [^8]: Hennepin County District Court / Minnesota Attorney General, *State of Minnesota v. 3M Company, Settlement Agreement and Order* — named parties; ¶ 13 $850 million Grant; ¶ 14 MPCA/DNR use; ¶ 17 Working Group; ¶ 25 Special Magistrate. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Cases/3M/docs/Agreement.pdf [^9]: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, *Xcel Energy Inc. fined $14,000 related to tritiated water storage at Monticello nuclear facility* (December 14, 2023) — penalty and storage-capacity facts. https://www.pca.state.mn.us/news-and-stories [^10]: Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, *MN Supreme Court finds MPCA violated law when it suppressed EPA concerns with PolyMet water permit* (n.d.) — advocacy account of the ruling. https://www.mncenter.org/mn-supreme-court-finds-mpca-violated-law-when-it-suppressed-epa-concerns-polymet-water-permit [^11]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *MPCA Citizens' Board* (agency record) — the board's existence and term (1967–2015, per the project's validated masters). https://www.lrl.mn.gov/agencies/detail?AgencyID=2523 [^12]: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, *State Pays Scientist $325,000 to Resign* (2006) — PEER's account of Oliaei's work, Commissioner Corrigan, the August 18, 2005 suit and the $325,000 resignation. https://peer.org/state-pays-scientist-325-000-to-resign/ [^13]: Minnesota Public Radio, *News story* (February 27, 2006) — contemporaneous coverage. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2006/02/27/pfcsspreadhearing [^14]: *Star Tribune*, *State finalizes payouts from Minnesota's $850 million forever chemicals settlement with 3M* (August 18, 2021) — allocation announced by Commissioner Tester. https://www.startribune.com/state-finalizes-payouts-from-minnesota-s-850-million-forever-chemicals-settlement-with-3m/600089057 [^15]: *Star Tribune*, *Xcel, state regulators called in front of Senate committees over tritium leak* (April 2023) — April 12, 2023 testimony of Koudelka and Clark. https://www.startribune.com/xcel-state-regulators-called-in-front-of-senate-committees-over-tritium-leak/600266575 [^16]: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, *East Metro 3M PFAS contamination* (n.d.) — four sites; disposal period; area and population affected; Closed Landfill Program. https://www.pca.state.mn.us/local-sites-and-projects/east-metro-3m-pfas-contamination [^17]: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, *MN 3M PFAS Actions* (presentation to ASDWA, 2019) — 2007 Consent Order terms, grants, 2008–2012 excavations; $125 million and $4.5 million accounting. https://www.asdwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Krueger-MN-3M-PFAS-Actions.pdf [^18]: Minnesota P