ENRTF ID: 114-B Project Title: Innovative Solution for Protecting Minnesota Natural Resources from PFAS contamination Grant Category: Water Resources: Research, Evaluation, Technology Development, and Engineering Design pertaining to emerging water contaminants. Project Objective: Protection of State’s drinking water resources and natural resources by eliminating a new Contaminant of Emerging Concern (CEC) known as Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from point source discharges. I. PROJECT STATEMENT Per – and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of synthetic chemicals that have been in use since the 1940s. PFAS are found in a wide array of consumer and industrial products such as food packaging materials, nonstick cookware, stain/water resistant carpet and clothing, cleaning products, paints, varnishes, sealants, firefighting foam, cosmetics, etc. Current water treatment technologies are ineffective at removing PFAS resulting in impacts to the State’s drinking water, surface water, fish and wildlife, and human populations. Due to the widespread use, documented contamination, and persistence in the environment, PFAS has become a Contaminant of Emerging Concern (CEC) both federally and locally in Minnesota. Research indicates that these contaminants can be harmful to human health and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) established health-based advisory values as low as 15 parts per trillion (ppt). An innovative treatment technology is being proposed by Dem-Con Companies (Dem-Con) to remove PFAS from contaminated water before it enters the environment. Once demonstrated, this technology can be implemented on a broader basis for residential, commercial, and industrial discharges throughout the State of Minnesota protecting our natural resources. Dem-Con is a third-generation family owned company known as a progressive leader in the waste recycling, processing, and public education space. We were one of the first in the country to pioneer robotics at a single stream recycling facility, develop a comprehensive recycling education and outreach program, and propose new and innovative ways to recycle construction and demolition materials. We will continue to look for opportunities to improve the environment by moving beyond the status quo and this project is another example of this initiative. Our interest in this project is to not only to address an emerging environmental and health concern for Minnesota, but we believe that addressing this issue “up-stream” at the source, regardless of the source, is a more proactive way of protecting the environment and our natural resources. To demonstrate our commitment to the project and the environment, Dem-Con is proposing to fund 50% of the initial project costs and 100% of the annual operations, reporting, and maintenance costs ($100,000/yr) throughout the expected 15-year life of the treatment system. The proposed system will clean up over 60 million gallons of contaminated water at the Dem-Con site alone and infinitely more when applied to sites throughout the state of Minnesota. The financial commitment from Dem-Con will maximize the return on investment for the Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) and the State of Minnesota. II. PROJECT ACTIVITIES AND OUTCOMES Activity: Demonstrate the efficacy of an innovative treatment technology to remove PFAS from contaminated water sources (residential, commercial, or industrial) prior to discharge to the environment. Dem-Con, along with the patented Clark Engineering LeachBuster® technology, is in a unique position to pioneer this new technology given that our landfill provides access to a known point source discharge (leachate) with existing historical data documenting the PFAS contamination levels. In addition, Dem-Con already has much of the needed infrastructure in place such as permits and licenses, piping, tanks, trucks, roads, etc. which will help demonstrate the project while minimizing the project costs. Dem-Con meets all of our permitting discharge requirements to the Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) and we have no compliance issues. Further, this is not to address any WWTP issues, but rather to prove out a larger concept that treatment of environmental issues, namely PFAS, is better done “up-stream” at the source. Outcome 1 - Design, Engineer, & Build Treatment System: Design, engineer, and build a LeachBuster® wastewater treatment system at the Dem-Con Environmental Campus in Shakopee, Minnesota to treat leachate from the landfill located at the site. The LeachBuster® LB-L9 treatment system is unique from existing treatment technologies in that it can treat <2000 Daltons particle size and can handle up to 10% of suspended solids and co-contaminants while still removing PFAS contaminates down to less than 20 ppt. The documented PFAS concentrations present in the landfill leachate are higher than most domestic wastewater providing a unique opportunity to evaluate this technology on a “industrial strength” discharge which could then be applied not only to other industrial point source discharges but also more broadly to the lower concentrations found in domestic wastewater. Outcome 2 - Conduct Research Program: To conduct a structured research program to characterize the feed material (leachate), conduct treatability studies, perform repeatability tests and durability evaluation. Outcome 3 – Report, Conclusions, Recommendations & Broader Implementation: Prepare data summaries, conclusions and recommendations for application of this technology to different sources of these contaminants. Opportunities for applying the results of these studies may include various industrial discharges, groundwater and surface water treatment/remediation systems, and domestic water quality treatment systems. Outcomes Table Completion Date 1. Design, Engineer, & Build Treatment System ($650,000): December 2020 2. Conduct Research Program ($50,000): June 2021 3. Report, Conclusions, Recommendations & Broader Implementation ($50,000): November 2021 ENRTF Grant: $750,000 Dem-Con Initial Commitment: $750,000 Dem-Con O&M Costs ($100,000/yr for 15 yrs): $1,500,000 Initial Project Costs: $1,500,000 $1,500,000 EVALUATION CRITERIA: The individual LCCMR evaluation criteria are addressed in Attachment A. III. PROJECT PARTNERS AND COLLABORATORS: The project partners are listed in Attachment B. IV. LONG TERM IMPLEMENTATION AND FUNDING As a progressive leader in the industry, Dem-Con is committed to the success of this project and helping to pioneer a new technology that will improve the quality of human health, the environment, and our natural resources. To demonstrate this commitment, we are proposing to fund 50% of the initial project costs matching each grant dollar with an in-kind Dem-Con contribution. Additionally, Dem-Con will be responsible for funding 100% of the ongoing operational, maintenance, and reporting costs throughout the expected 20-year life of the equipment.