Dana and Michael Strande first learned about PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in 2012. They lived just one mile away from the world’s first mass producer of PFAS, Minnesota-based company 3M. PFAS are a group of highly toxic chemicals used in everyday products like cookware and clothing.
“I remember asking a friend of mine who works at 3M, like, ‘Do I need to be worried about these chemicals?’” Dana said at an event in Hastings on Tuesday night. “And this person said, ‘No, no one gets sick at our company. It’s getting blown out of proportion,’” she said.
Five years later, the Strandes’ daughter Amara was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of liver cancer that her family believes was caused by PFAS exposure through their drinking water. PFAS have been found in groundwater covering more than 150 square miles of the east metro, affecting drinking water supplies of more than 140,000 Minnesotans, according to the state’s Pollution Control Agency.
In 2018, the state of Minnesota won a lawsuit against 3M, which had to pay $850 million to help certain cities mitigate PFAS contamination (Hastings was not included in the original settlement).
Amara became an outspoken advocate for regulating PFAS, and in 2023, Amara’s Law was passed. The state law bans PFAS in some products and requires that manufacturers disclose products they add PFAS to in a public database. Amara died just four days before the legislation became law, at age 20.
“She didn’t want any other family to go through what her family had been going through,” Dana said. “She didn’t want any other kids to feel like their future was limited the way hers was limited.”
This story set the stage on Tuesday night for a roundtable discussion about PFAS in Hastings’ drinking water. The event drew about 15 people to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church’s basement, where attendees asked Sen. Judy Seeberger, DFL-Afton, and Hastings mayor Mary Fassbender for updates about the city’s water situation.
All but one of Hastings’ water wells contain PFAS higher than the maximum level deemed safe by the Environmental Protection Agency. In 2024, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency linked PFAS in one of the wells to a signature chemical made at 3M, qualifying the city for some of the 2018 settlement money.
The city is now building three new water treatment plants capable of filtering out PFAS. The first facility, called the Central Water Treatment Plant, will be finished next March, according to Fassbender.
Hastings residents are facing the brunt of the costs associated with building these three plants. Their water bills have increased three times since January 2025, with three additional rate hikes anticipated. The city recently filed their own lawsuit against 3M alleging that the company should pay for the treatment costs of their water, not residents.
Attendees of Tuesday’s event highlighted the irony of dealing with water contamination and scarcity in a state famous for its abundant waters. “The fact that in Minnesota we have to buy clean drinking water is just ridiculous,” said Bronwyn Skov, a Hastings resident and member of the Episcopal church that hosted the event.
Other attendees voiced similar frustrations, and blamed 3M for creating a problem that will likely take decades to resolve. Seeberger predicts the $850 million of settlement money will run out far before her district can totally remove PFAS from its groundwater.
If it does run out, the settlement requires that 3M pay for additional costs, a legal requirement known as a consent decree. But Seeberger anticipates the company fighting that decree.
“I guarantee you that 3M is going to fight it, and that cities who are entitled to compensation through the consent decree are going to have to fight again to get the money that they need to continue to keep their water safe,” she said.
A representative for 3M was not present at the event and the company did not respond to MinnPost’s request for comment Wednesday morning.
Claire Carlson is a Report for America corps member, covering drinking water for MinnPost and the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk. Report for America places talented journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and regions.
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