On Monday, Representative Tom Dippel held a press conference to address PFAS legislation that he is working on. Dippel addressed four bills that he is working on before taking questions, including a proposal to reallocate money from the 3M settlement to Hastings to fund water treatement plants. Below is Dippel’s statement:
After this, Dippel answered questions and concerns from audience members and Hastings City Council members.
Later on Monday, KDWA received a statement from Senator Judy Seeberger in regards to the proposal, the statement reading:
“While I agree with Representative Dippel that Hastings is in dire need of water infrastructure improvements, this is certainly not the best way to pay for Hastings” water treatment plants,? said Senator Seeberger in regards to the proposal to reallocate money from the 3M settlement to fund water treatment plants. ?I am encouraged by the fact that Hastings will qualify for some of the 3M settlement funds, but by diverting a large chunk of these allocated dollars to Hastings, he would effectively be stealing from communities like Cottage Grove, who have already made plans for their own infrastructure improvements – making it harder or impossible for other cities to finish their projects.
“I have a bonding proposal for Hastings ready to go. I, like Representative Dippel, represent many communities impacted by PFAS contamination, and I do not believe they should be competing against one another. Through my approach, we won”t have to steal from our neighbors to pay for Hastings” projects. My hope is to have Representative Dippel sign onto our bill, and I hope he understands my objection to his proposal.”
