BEMIDJI, Minn — The city of Bemidji has reached a settlement with 3M to help pay for treating contamination in its water supply.
3M will pay $12.5 million to help build and operate a treatment facility to remove chemicals known as PFAS, which the company manufactured for use as firefighting foam.
The city found elevated levels of PFAS in its wells in 2016 and linked the source of the contamination to firefighting foam used during training at the regional airport, which is located near the wells, Minnesota Public Radio News reports.
Some PFAS have been linked to health problems including low birth weight, kidney and thyroid issues and some cancers.
The agreement was a “long time coming,” city manager Nate Mathews told MPR News. He said there was a lot of anxiety in the community when the PFAS were discovered.
"I think people in Bemidji are feeling a good sense of relief that we addressed the issue,” Mathews said. “It was a big, complicated project and a long, long process, and it's good to get some conclusion to that."
The city started the first phase of the project last year, and it’s expected to be online within the next couple of weeks, Mathews said. It will use granular activated carbon to capture and remove PFAS from Bemidji's water supply.
