• The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is out with a report attempting to capture the full cost to remove PFAS from the state’s wastewater streams;
  • The estimate is between $14B and $28B over 20 years;
  • The independent study by MPCA is part of the state’s PFAS Blueprint, which is its plan to prevent, manage and clean up PFAS pollution;
  • The cost is based on required upgrades to the state’s existing water infrastructure;
  • Other highlights of the report:
    • Estimates PFAS can be bought for $50-$1,000 per lb. but cost $2.7M to $18M per lb. to remove & destroy from municipal wastewater, depending on facility size
      • Smaller water treatment facilities face costs more than 6 times greater than large facilities due to economies of scale
    • Newer “short chain” types of PFAS cost up to 70 percent more to remove versus old “long-chain”
    • 12 PFAS removal and destruction technologies have been selected for statewide cost development
  • The report serves as further evidence that through no fault of their own, wastewater treatment facilities receive PFAS from a variety of sources and they cannot carry the financial burden of cleaning up the pollution.