Hastings Awards $15.3 Million Contract for Its Eastern PFAS Water Plant

TLDR

• Hastings hired Rice Lake Construction Group to build its Eastern Water Treatment Plant for $15,319,700.
• The plant will filter PFAS out of city water near the industrial park.
• A $5 million state grant is expected Nov. 2. Another $17.5 million in state money may not show up until early 2027.
• If state money is slow, the city will borrow short-term and pay it back.

The Hastings City Council approved a $15.3 million contract Monday, Oct. 19, for the city's eastern water treatment plant. It's the second of three plants Hastings is building to take PFAS out of your tap water. Here's what that means.

What's being built

PFAS are "forever chemicals" that don't break down. They've turned up in Hastings' wells, and the city has sued 3M over the pollution.

The eastern plant goes in the industrial park, on the same site as Well No. 6. The city says its plants will use activated carbon to trap PFAS. The central plant is already being built and should start up in January 2027. A western plant comes later.

Who's building it, and for how much

Bids opened July 23. Three companies bid. Public Works Director Ryan Stempski said all three are big names in PFAS plant work. Rice Lake Construction Group came in lowest.

The $15,319,700 total includes a few extras:

• An allowance for things like computer security for the plant's control system and permit fees.
• Option 1: a phosphate feed system.
• Option 2: a gas chlorine feed system.

The two options might only be needed after the plant starts up and the water gets tested. But they're in the price just in case.

Why the city didn't wait for state money

Here's the snag. The city has been waiting on state grant paperwork since summer. Last year, a similar grant for the central plant moved fast. This year, Stempski said, the state keeps asking for more information. He thinks it's tied to recent fraud concerns.

Meanwhile, the bids are getting old. Contractors only have to hold prices for 60 days. Wait much longer and prices from suppliers could go up. And the state actually wants the contract awarded as part of its grant package.

So the plan looks like this:

• A $5 million "emerging contaminants" state grant should come to the council for approval Nov. 2.
• Another $17.5 million in state money could take two to three months after paperwork is in. That pushes it into early 2027.
• If that's slow, the city can get short-term bonds through Northland Securities. Bonds are a loan the city pays back. The state money would pay them back when it arrives.

Stempski said Rice Lake won't spend anywhere near $5 million this winter anyway. Work should really ramp up in spring.

What it means for your water bill

The city says the full three-plant system costs about $68.9 million to design and build. Money is coming from the 3M settlement, state bonding, grants, low-interest loans and your water bill.

Rates already went up 10% three times between January 2025 and January 2026. The city projects 13% in 2027, 15% in 2028 and 13% in 2029, though that could change. We broke down what the PFAS plants mean for Hastings water rates earlier this year, plus the May 2026 rate increase.

The motion passed with no discussion.

The Bottom Line

Construction should get going for real in spring 2027. Watch the Nov. 2 council meeting for that $5 million grant.

If you want to know more about PFAS and your health, the Minnesota Department of Health's PFAS page is a good start. Hastings posts updates on its PFAS updates page and its water treatment plant projects page.