Arne Carlson criticizes Stillwater delay in notification regarding PFAS contamination

Mary Divine, Pioneer Press
Updated ·4 min read

Former Gov. Arne Carlson this week raised concerns about what he called an “incredible delay” in informing Stillwater residents that one of the city’s wells has levels of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances above health-based guidance values for drinking water.

Stillwater officials disclosed earlier this month that they shut down one of the city’s wells more than a year ago after tests from the Minnesota Department of Health showed the water from the well had PFAS levels above health-based guidelines for drinking water.

The well — Well No. 6 — is one of eight city wells and is located in the southeastern part of the city. Once city officials learned that trace amounts of PFAS were found in the well, they shut it down, said City Administrator Joe Kohlmann.

But city officials waited until March 6 to alert residents because health department officials advised the city that “four consecutive quarters of testing were needed to verify the PFAS level and ensure it was not a ‘false positive,’” Kohlmann said.

“They advised notifying the public approximately 330 days after the initial testing,” Kohlmann said. “We shut down the well between the first and second test as a preventative measure.”

PFAS and similar manufactured “forever chemicals” were once ubiquitous in industrial and consumer products like cookware and fire-protection, but have since been shown to cause adverse health effects. They also don’t break down naturally when disposed of.

Stillwater officials have followed the lead of the Minnesota Department of Health on this matter “because they are the agency that tests the water and advises further action,” Kohlmann said. “The city’s decision to shut down the well was unilateral and done to protect the public. The Minnesota Department of Health still has not advised that the well be shut down.

“However, the city of Stillwater will continue to go above and beyond recommendations to provide safe drinking water.”

No federal standards

In a letter to Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Brooke Cunningham, Carlson questioned why MDH officials didn’t insist residents be told right away.

“This goes well beyond careless management or an administrative snafu,” Carlson wrote. “People’s lives were placed in danger by the deliberate inaction of their own government. Why was the public not fully informed when the first well was found to have contaminants that exceeded the state’s standards? Further, why was there a delay between the finding of serious contamination and the closing of the well?”

MDH officials said Thursday that there are currently “no actionable federal or state standards for the allowable amount of PFAS in drinking water systems.”

The MDH “has been monitoring PFAS levels in anticipation of a federal standard, and as a way to set a baseline for those levels in systems,” MDH Interim Assistant Commissioner for Health Protection Myra Kunas said in a prepared statement. “This is work that has not been mandated at the state or federal level, but the department believes it is an important part of ensuring the safety of drinking water across Minnesota.”

MDH currently has no regulatory authority to act to shut down a water system with any amount of PFAS detected, she said.

“When elevated levels are found in community drinking water systems, those communities are notified, and we provide support and guidance on the best course of action,” she said. “We will continue to do all that we can within our regulatory authority and in cooperation with federal and local partners to ensure that all Minnesotans have access to safe drinking water.”

Carlson responded to Kunas’ comments on Thursday night, saying there should be an “immediate and independent investigation” into the situation. “This is truly unbelievable,” he said. “People’s lives are at stake, and (we) have no policy and no standards when it comes to protecting clean water.”

‘More visibility’

Stillwater Mayor Ted Kozlowski said Thursday that he appreciated Gov. Carlson’s “desire to get more visibility on this issue.”

“We are in the position where we have to rely on the state, and we need the state of Minnesota to help us,” Kozlowski said. “If we have to mitigate this, we’re certainly going to need the help of the state.”

In a post to residents on Facebook, Kozlowski said the city closed the well out of “an abundance of caution.”

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“There are communities where the levels of PFAS are so high the MDH has directed actions to mitigate through treatment or shut down wells,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, our friends in Lake Elmo, Oakdale, Woodbury and others have faced this issue.

“The Minnesota Department of Health HAS NOT recommended any mitigation or closure for our affected well. Out of an abundance of caution and the fact that the other unaffected wells can supply our water needs, we made the decision to close well #6 while we work with the MDH to continue to test and identify what, if any, mitigation needs to happen. None of our other wells have tested over the threshold set by the MDH for PFAS.”

Kozlowski said the city would continue “to take actions that go above and beyond MDH recommendations and provide updates.”

“I’m drinking our water, my kids are drinking this water, and I love Stillwater water,” he said. “While I am absolutely taking this seriously, there is no reason to be concerned about our water.”