ST. PAUL – The Minnesota House on Monday provided broad, bipartisan approval of legislation featuring $6.1 million to mitigate the cancer-causing chemical dioxane found in private drinking water wells in the Red Oaks neighborhood of Andover.
Rep. Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, authored a bill to provide the Andover project’s funding. It ultimately was included in a larger package of infrastructure appropriations using cash from the state’s $17.5 billion surplus.
“I am thankful for the House passing this overdue funding to help people who have been without safe well water the last year and a half and had to rely on using bottled water in their own homes,” Niska said. “I urge the Senate to pass this bill quickly so the governor can enact it and we can fix this problem as soon as possible. Regardless, there is still a long road ahead for these people whose wells are contaminated and I hope the fact this was a cash bill will speed up the process compared with waiting for bonds to be let in a traditional bonding bill.”
Niska said the funding will allow Andover to address properties with currently contaminated wells through the design and construction of new municipal water mains. He indicated additional Red Oaks properties are being monitored for contamination and further funding could be necessary to address those as well pending continued testing.
“I will continue to be vigilant and assess the needs of people in this part of our district,” Niska said. “We’ll keep an eye on things and respond accordingly.”
In total, the bill (H.F. 670) appropriates approximately $392 million from the state's general fund to complete projects around the state. It passed the House 98-36 and now is in the hands of the Senate, which could approve it as-is and send it to the governor for enactment. Any amended language added by the Senate would result in a joint House-Senate conference committee working to prepare the bill final passage.
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