The Metropolitan Council’s plan to build a new wastewater treatment plant in Dakota County could free up space along the Hastings downtown riverfront for development. The Met Council is planning to build a new $145 million plant along Ravenna Trail, two miles southeast of the current location near Hastings’ Levee Park. The location of the current treatment facility is too small to allow for future growth and regulatory upgrades, according to the Met Council’s Environmental Services Department. Opened in 1955, the current plant can treat 2.34 million gallons of wastewater a day. A new plant, set to open in 2027, would be required to handle the needs of the growing southeast metro.