Minnesota to receive nearly $15M in federal funding to combat PFAS pollution
MINNEAPOLIS — The Biden Administration is directing funding to help Minnesota get rid of forever chemicals in our water.
On Wednesday, the administration said $1 billion will go across the U.S. to help remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. The funding will be used for PFAS detection and treatment systems. This is to protect Americans from diseases and cancers caused by forever chemicals.
Minnesota will receive nearly $15 million.
The administration also announced that the Environmental Protection Agency is issuing a national regulation limiting the amount of certain PFAS
The EPA has stated there is no safe level of exposure to PFAS without risk of health impacts, but now it will require that public water utilities test for six different types of PFAS chemicals to reduce exposure in drinking water. The new standards will reduce PFAS exposure for 100 million people, according to the EPA, and prevent thousands of deaths and illnesses.
"Drinking water contaminated with PFAS has plagued communities across this country for too long," EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a statement Wednesday.
RELATED: Court approves 3M multi-billion dollar settlement over PFAS in public drinking water systems
Commonly called "forever chemicals," PFAS are synthetic chemicals found nearly everywhere – in air, water, and soil – and can take thousands of years to break down in the environment.
While the onus on clean up will come at the cost of the water utility companies, the new regulations do little to hold polluters accountable for the damage PFAS have done to the environment and human health. There have been several major settlements in recent years by chemical companies over PFAS contamination, a notable one being a $10.3 billion settlement reached by 3M in June 2023.