The Minnesota Legislature adjourned its session Sunday with no state bonding bill.
The City of Hastings had hoped that money towards the three water treatment plants it needs to build to filter out PFAS forever chemicals and nitrates would be addressed by lawmakers. Hastings had asked for $20 million, which would have got construction of the first treatment plant started, which would service two city wells and the Hastings Veterans Home.
The overall project to remediate PFAS from the city drinking water supply is upwards of $70 million and must be completed within five years.
New federal standards announced last month mean that Hastings drinking water supply has PFAS contamination in them that exceeds the newly enacted Environmental Protection Agency requirements that the water supply can’t have in excess of four parts per trillion of the contaminants.
The city is awaiting answers on other funding sources, including Gov. Tim Walz, grant programs and the 3M East Metro Settlement Fund. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is conducting testing on the city water to try to pinpoint if the 3M facility just north of Hastings in Cottage Grove is a source of the contamination, as that would open up Hastings to those settlement funds.
The legislature had more than $7 billion in bonding requests from state and local projects, many of which are now in limbo.
Hastings officials are still hopeful for funding.
“We’re still waiting to hear how any other discussions are going, but for the immediate action where things couldn’t get done, it was really frustrating, obviously,” said Public Works Director/City Engineer Ryan Stempski.
The city hired a lobbyist earlier this year to try to help drive the Hastings message home.
“We’re waiting to get updates from her just to see what else can be done, maybe a summer session or any other options there are,” said Stempski. “We didn’t put all our eggs in the bonding bill basket. We wanted to make sure there are other creative options, so we’re just waiting to hear on those.”