The 3M PFAS Minnesota settlement is an $850 million fund, approved by a Hennepin County court in February 2018, that pays for drinking water cleanup and natural resource restoration in the Twin Cities East Metro after decades of “forever chemical” contamination from 3M’s manufacturing and waste disposal.1Minnesota 3M PFAS Settlement. Minnesota 3M PFAS Settlement After legal expenses, roughly $720 million is being invested across Washington and Ramsey counties, and if your home sits inside the affected area, the state will test your well and install treatment at no cost to you.
What the Settlement Pays For
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) serve as co-trustees, administering the money as a restricted grant without needing separate legislative appropriations.2Office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. 3M Lawsuit Spending runs under two priorities set by the court-approved agreement.
Priority 1 is safe drinking water. That means municipal treatment upgrades, extending water mains to unserved neighborhoods, and point-of-entry filters on private wells. The settlement sets aside $115 million specifically for long-term operation and maintenance, with an estimated 20 years of upkeep for public systems and 30 years for private well treatment systems.3Minnesota 3M PFAS Settlement. Conceptual Drinking Water Supply Plan Annual Review If the state installs a filter at your house, you aren’t paying for carbon replacements or servicing for decades.
Priority 2 funds aquatic habitat, wildlife, and recreation projects in the East Metro and along the downstream Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers, compensating the public for lost use of natural resources during the years of contamination.4Minnesota 3M PFAS Settlement. About
Which Communities Are Inside the Area
Eligibility turns on whether your property falls within the established contamination boundary. The MPCA’s annual report lists the following cities as inside the area: Afton, Cottage Grove, Hastings, Lake Elmo, Lakeland, Lakeland Shores, Maplewood, Newport, Oakdale, St. Paul Park, and Woodbury. The townships of Denmark, Grey Cloud Island, and West Lakeland are included, along with the Prairie Island Indian Community.5Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. 3M Settlement Annual Report and Spending Plan for Fiscal Year 2025
The report uses “includes, but is not limited to” language, so the list can grow if groundwater monitoring at the plume edges turns up new data. An interactive map on the 3M settlement website lets you check an individual address.
Getting Your Private Well Tested
If you have a private well inside the boundary, you can request free PFAS sampling through the MPCA’s online groundwater sampling request form.6Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Groundwater Sampling Request The form asks for your property address and your well construction record if you have it. The record includes the well’s depth, unique well number, and the aquifer it draws from, all of which help technicians judge the well’s position relative to the plume.
The state evaluates results using a Health Index (HI) that combines concentrations of five PFAS compounds: PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFBA, and PFBS. A well with an HI of 1.0 or higher triggers a health advisory and qualifies for state-funded carbon filtration. Both public and private wells use the same threshold.7Minnesota 3M PFC Settlement. Priority 1 Frequently Asked Questions Results below 1.0 but with detectable PFAS typically mean periodic monitoring rather than immediate treatment. Because Minnesota’s individual health-based values have tightened over time, a well that previously tested clean can be reclassified later.
What Treatment Looks Like at Your Home
For qualifying wells, the MPCA coordinates installation of a granular activated carbon (GAC) filter at your home’s point of entry. Water passes through two canisters of activated carbon that trap PFAS molecules before anything reaches your taps.8Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Water Filtration Frequently Asked Questions State contractors handle installation, and the MPCA manages ongoing carbon replacement for homeowners who cannot connect to a municipal system.
Sometimes the better option is extending municipal water lines from the street to your property instead of installing a filter. Either way, technicians run follow-up testing to confirm the system is working, and the settlement covers all installation and maintenance costs.9Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Well Sampling in the East Metro Area
Why Minnesota’s Threshold Matters
Minnesota and the federal government use different benchmarks for PFAS in drinking water, and Minnesota’s are much stricter for some compounds. The Minnesota Department of Health sets a noncancer-based value of 0.24 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and 2.3 ppt for PFOS, with additional values of 47 ppt for PFHxS, 100 ppt for PFBS, and 7,000 ppt for PFBA.10Minnesota 3M PFAS Settlement. Release of the Updated PFOA and PFOS Health-Based Values
The EPA finalized its first enforceable PFAS drinking water rule in April 2024, setting Maximum Contaminant Levels of 4 ppt each for PFOA and PFOS, 10 ppt each for PFHxS, PFNA, and HFPO-DA (GenX), and a Hazard Index of 1 for mixtures that include PFBS.11Federal Register. PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation Public water systems originally had until 2027 to test and 2029 to comply. In May 2025, the EPA pushed the PFOA and PFOS compliance deadline back to 2031, and the standards for the other compounds face ongoing litigation.
Practically, Minnesota’s threshold for PFOA is roughly 17 times stricter than the federal limit. A sample that meets the EPA’s 4 ppt standard could still exceed Minnesota’s 0.24 ppt value. Settlement-funded treatment programs use the MDH Health Index rather than the federal MCLs, so East Metro residents get the tighter standard.
Health Risks That Make Testing Worth It
PFAS are called “forever chemicals” because they resist breaking down in the environment or in the body. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry links elevated PFAS exposure to:12Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. How PFAS Impacts Your Health
- Increased cholesterol tied to PFOA and PFOS
- Reduced antibody response to certain vaccines, particularly in children
- Changes in liver enzyme levels linked to PFOA, PFOS, and PFHxS
- Pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia
- Small decreases in infant birth weight tied to PFOA and PFOS
- Kidney and testicular cancer associated with PFOA
If you live in the plume area, it’s worth asking your doctor whether blood testing for PFAS makes sense for your household, especially if your water had elevated contamination before any treatment was installed.
Buying or Selling a Home in the Plume
Minnesota law requires home sellers to make a written disclosure of all material facts they are aware of to prospective buyers.13Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 513.55 – Disclosure Knowing your property is in the plume, that your well has tested positive, or that the state has installed a treatment system are all material facts. Failing to disclose can create liability after closing.
For buyers, a state-maintained GAC filter or a connection to treated municipal water isn’t a red flag on its own. The upkeep is covered by the settlement for decades, which is a tangible benefit. Before closing, ask for any well test results and confirm whether the home runs on municipal water or on a private well with filtration.
Don’t Confuse This With the 2023 National Settlement
The 2018 Minnesota deal is separate from 3M’s later national PFAS settlement. In 2023, 3M agreed to pay up to $10.3 billion in pre-tax present value over 13 years to support PFAS remediation for public water suppliers across the United States, covering any public system that has detected PFAS or may detect it in the future.143M. 3M Settlement with Public Water Suppliers to Address PFAS Minnesota municipalities with public water systems can draw from both: the state-specific $850 million fund and the national settlement, which pays out through 2036.