Committee hears local bonding requests: PFAS mitigation in Hastings, Stillwater and Oak Park Heights; Litchfield dairy cooperative seeks pretreatment funds

Several members presented local bonding requests and informational briefings to the House Capital Investment Committee on Feb. 27. Committee members considered multiple PFAS mitigation requests from cities and a private cooperative’s request for pretreatment wastewater infrastructure after a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) compliance schedule.

Hastings (Representative Tom DePel / Mayor Mary Fassbender): Mayor Mary Fassbender told the committee Hastings seeks $16,600,000 in state bonding to address PFAS contamination and to fund improvements across three treatment plants. Fassbender said all six municipal wells contain PFAS and that the contamination affects veterans’ homes served by the local supply. She said Hastings is “shovel ready” and previously obtained other funding for parts of the project; without outside funding, the city projects steep rate increases for residents and operations costs. Representative Tom…