MPCA PFAS monitoring plan

January 4, 2022

Read the article by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

The MPCA began working with stakeholders in June 2021 to build a draft PFAS monitoring plan. This plan encompasses a number of projects identified as near-term priorities in Minnesota’s PFAS Blueprint.

The draft PFAS monitoring plan lays out a path forward for PFAS monitoring at solid waste, wastewater, and stormwater facilities, hazardous waste landfills, facilities with air emissions, and sites in the Brownfield or Superfund programs. The draft plan does not establish facility-specific requirements, but outlines how the MPCA plans to prioritize locations for PFAS monitoring and what the monitoring will entail.

Aligning with the PFAS Blueprint

The goals of the monitoring effort align with the PFAS management strategy outlined in Minnesota’s PFAS Blueprint:

  1. Prevent. Identify opportunities for PFAS mitigation by discovering the most significant sources of PFAS releases directly to the environment or to waste facilities that serve as conduits of PFAS to the environment. This information can help facilities switch to PFAS-free products, enact PFAS management plans, or install up-stream PFAS treatment and destruction systems.  
  2. Manage. Gather data needed to holistically develop PFAS minimization strategies to meaningfully reduce PFAS releases to the environment without waste management facilities needing to invest in costly treatment systems unless absolutely necessary.
  3. Clean up. Discover PFAS impacted areas to target risk reduction efforts, such as ensuring rapid investigation of potentially impacted drinking water systems or commonly used fisheries.

Ways to get involved

  1. Provide written feedback online
  2. Participate in program specific meetings (see below)

Program-specific meetings

  • Air
    Nov. 29, 10 am – 11 am
    For invite, subscribe to AirMail
  • Industrial and municipal wastewater
    Dec. 9, 11 am – 12 pm
    For invite, subscribe to Industrial Wastewater or Municipal Wastewater emails with GovDelivery
  • Industrial stormwater
    Nov. 17, 11 am – 12 pm
    For details, email [email protected]

  • Remediation
    Dec. 15, half-day meeting on PFAS guidance development (stakeholder only)
    Jan. 4, 2-3 pm, public meeting on PFAS monitoring plan
    For details, email [email protected]

  • Solid waste and hazardous waste landfills
    Dec. 2, 9:30 am – 11 am
    For invite, subscribe to Solid Waste Permitting emails with GovDelivery or email
    [email protected]

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