MINNEAPOLIS — Editor's note: The video above first aired on KARE 11 on May 9, 2023.
A Twin Cities-based corporation will pay more than $1 million toward restoring natural resources that state environmental agencies say were contaminated by the release of "forever chemicals."
On Wednesday, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) announced it, along with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), reached a natural resources damages settlement with Douglas Corporation for $1.375 million.
The agencies say Douglas Corporation — a chrome-plating facility — released per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) and hexavalent chromium into the environment during its manufacturing process. The PFAS, or "forever chemicals," were detected in Minneapolis' Lake Harriet and Bde Maka Ska, in addition to Bass Lake in St. Louis Park.
The chemicals were detected in Bda Maka Ska as far back as 2004, according to MPCA.
MPCA says at least $1 million from the settlement will be used to improve water quality, fisheries and outdoor recreational opportunities.
During this year's legislative session, a Minnesota House-Senate conference committee agreed on language that will begin the ban of fire suppression foam containing PFAS in 2025, along with other products laden with those chemicals.
A timeline provided by the state shows Douglas Corporation started to address the use of PFAS in 2010, monitoring its output and attempting to prevent the chemicals from leaving the facility. In 2013, the state found PFAS levels in fish from Bde Maka Ska started to improve.
Three years later, Douglas Corporation officially started to comply with regulatory measures presented by the state in an effort to further preserve and protect the environment.
The MPCA says Bde Maka Ska and Lake Harriet are still considered "impaired waters," but concedes that water quality is improving. Current PFAS levels in fish alone reveal they've fallen about 90% from 2008 to 2021.
Later this year, the state says it will also use the money from the settlement to solicit project ideas from community partners in the area east of Highway 169, within the lower watershed of Minnehaha Creek.
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