ST. PAUL, MN — The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) this week told 3M Co. officials that they probably will have to repay the state for cleanup costs associated with chemical-tainted groundwater, according to a March 15 Associated Press article.
The MPCA declared the chemicals, which were used in manufacturing processes by 3M and that polluted wells supplying some eastern Twin Cities suburbs, to be hazardous, according to the AP report.
The company stopped using the chemicals in its manufacturing processes in 2002, according to the AP report.
MCPA Commissioner Brad Moore told 3M officials in letters that the three sites owned by 3M are subject to cleanup under the state Superfund law and that he is pursuing a "solid legal framework" to ensure citizens and the environment are protected, according to the AP report.
The Superfund law allows the state to proceed with remediation and recover the costs from 3M, according to the AP report.
As reported by WaterTech Online® this month, state Attorney General Lori Swanson had been examining how state environmental law can be used to hold 3M responsible for the cleanup costs.
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