Municipalities across the nation and Minnesota are dealing with the PFAS dilemma.

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a group of long-lasting chemicals that are found in our clothes and kitchenware among other things, according to the National Library of Medicine. The substances are working their way into our water, air and food. Additionally, PFAS has been associated with rise in blood pressure, variety of malignancies, development delays and immune system disruption.

It’s a big problem that’s not going away any time soon.

Lyon County and the City of Marshall are attempting to address the problem.

Last July, the Lyon County Board of Commissioners accepted $214,155 grant from the state fund a study on ways to remove PFAS from landfill runoff. The grant project would study how well the evaporation process separates out PFAS from the leachate.

According to Lyon County Administrator Roger Schroeder, the county had until Dec. 8 to complete the project.

“The state is pushing very hard for their understanding of PFAS compounds and the treatment of it and management of it at landfills,” Schroeder told commissioners.

Of course, the study was just the first step in the process of dealing with PFAS in the landfill. On April 14, another step was taken as the Marshall City Council approved a resolution of support of the county’s $5.5 million state funding request for a PFAS treatment facility. On Tuesday, the Lyon County board of commissioners also approved a resolution to support the $5.5 million of state funding.

The treatment facility would help prevent PFAS contamination in Marshall wastewater, Marshall Wastewater Scott Przybilla said. During part of the year, the landfill trucks in loads of liquid runoff to the Marshall sewage plant for treatment, he said.

“This really is an issue that we’re in together, because the Lyon County landfill accepts waste from not only Marshall but the surrounding area. But then the leachate, that comes to our wastewater treatment facility,” Marshall Mayor Bob Byrnes told council members.

Meanwhile, other parts of the state are dealing with a much larger problem — contaminated drinking water.

According to a 2023 Minnesota Reformer article, the Minnesota Department of Health identified 12 cities and two manufactured home parks where at least a portion of the drinking water is estimated to exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed new limits on “forever chemicals.”

We urge the state to continue to make investments that will shield Minnesotans from major health risks from the exposure from PFAS.