After decades of chemical contamination, some of the Twin Cities' most stressed waterways are getting a multimillion-dollar boost. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Pollution Control Agency announced Wednesday that $20 million in grants will go to projects repairing habitat and public access along waterways harmed by PFAS in the east metro and in downstream stretches of the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers. The money will be split among 26 proposals for park upgrades, shoreline and stream restorations, and new trails and river access, with officials framing the funding as a way to start making up for years of ecological and recreational loss tied to PFAS pollution.
According to the Minnesota DNR, the agencies selected a mix of local governments, watershed districts and nonprofits for this round of "Priority 2" awards, which total $20 million. DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen said, "PFAS contamination has had a significant impact on the natural resources in communities across the East Metro," and called the grants "an important step in mitigating that damage." State officials say the grant framework was hammered out with input from two public work groups and that more detailed information on each funded project will be released as award agreements are finalized.
Selected projects span parks, riverfronts and trails
The funded work stretches across some familiar outdoor destinations. Belwin Conservancy will improve its Oxbow Trails in Afton. The City of Cottage Grove will move ahead with plans for Mississippi Dunes Park. Friends of the Mississippi River will take on habitat restoration in Cottage Grove Ravine Regional Park. Ramsey County is set to upgrade facilities at Beaver Lake, and Washington County plans to build about 10 miles of singletrack at Lake Elmo Park Reserve. The complete list of 26 funded projects is posted on the 3M settlement site and is expected to be updated with more specifics later this year. Local partners range from county parks departments to smaller nonprofits doing fishing education and shoreline stabilization work.
Where the money comes from
The grants are being drawn from the state's 2018 natural resource damage settlement with 3M, a court-approved agreement that totaled $850 million. State materials note that most of that settlement was dedicated to drinking water projects in the east metro, while roughly $20 million was set aside for Priority 2 natural resource and recreation projects. For program rules and the geographic eligibility area, which covers portions of Washington, Ramsey and Dakota counties and downstream reaches of the Mississippi and St. Croix, see the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
What's next
Officials say the DNR is working with grant recipients now to lock in award agreements, and that project pages will be updated with budgets and schedules in the fall. The 3M settlement site also notes that its project list will get more detail this fall and offers an email signup for updates. Some of the larger restoration and trail-building efforts are expected to move through permitting and design phases first and may not break ground until 2027.
