Hastings Buys Land for Its Third PFAS Water Plant, and It's Not Wallin Park

TLDR

• Hastings is buying 3.14 acres in the Sunset Hills development off 15th Street for $700,000.
• That's where the western PFAS water treatment plant will go. Wallin Park is off the table for the plant.
• The deal includes berms and screening to hide the plant from neighbors.
• The city may also put a new well, Well No. 9, on the same site.

This one's been years in the making. At the Nov. 2 Hastings City Council meeting, the council approved buying land for the city's third and final PFAS water treatment plant. And it's not in Wallin Park, which is exactly what a lot of neighbors asked for.

How We Got Here

Hastings is building three plants to filter PFAS out of our drinking water. Those are the "forever chemicals" tied to 3M. The central plant is under construction. The eastern plant just got a builder. The western plant needed a home.

The first plan put it in Wallin Park. Residents spoke up at a meeting held in a garage. Public Works Director Ryan Stempski said the city then spent a year and a half working with SEAS Church on land off General Sieben Drive and Northridge Drive. Talks stalled because the church wasn't sure about its own future plans.

The city had a rule for itself. It only wanted a willing seller. "We weren't looking to impose eminent domain," Stempski said. (That's when the government forces someone to sell.)

So staff went back to its site study. That study maps where a plant can work with the water system's pressure zones. It pointed to a spot in Sunset Hills, a newly platted neighborhood.

What the City Is Buying

The land is a 3.14-acre outlot right off 15th Street. An outlot is a leftover piece of land in a development that isn't a home lot. It's on the very western edge of Hastings. "I can't move any further at the moment inside the city of Hastings," Stempski joked.

The owner was willing to sell. The city got an appraisal from Valbridge, offered that exact number, and the owner said yes. The price is $700,000. It'll come out of the city's Water Enterprise Fund (the account our water bills pay into).

What's in the Deal

A few key pieces stood out:

• Room to test for a new well. The city may also put Well No. 9 on this site. The deal lets crews get on the land to study the water underground. A desktop survey starts this week. Field tests likely won't happen until the end of the year or early 2027.
• Berms and screening. The seller asked for berms (raised hills of dirt) and plants on the north side, facing the new homes. The seller and the council both have to approve the berm and the plant's building height. Stempski said the city always planned to do this.
• A bigger pond. Some rain runs downhill from Sunset Hills onto this land. The plant needs a stormwater pond anyway, so the city will make it a little bigger to handle that water.
• A lined basin. Sunset Hills was approved with a basin that lets rain soak straight into the ground. State law doesn't allow that close to a well. The purchase agreement makes the city pay the extra cost to turn it into a lined basin that filters the water instead.

Council Member Dave Pemble asked how big the pond will be. Stempski said they don't know yet. They need soil tests first. But 3.14 acres is plenty of room for the plant, the pond and landscaping.

The City Listened

Council Member Tim Lawrence thanked public works for hearing people out. He remembered that first meeting in the garage. "The city listened," he said. "You guys really took it to heart with what the people were having to say."

Pemble made the motion, and Council Member Mya Beck seconded it. It passed with no "no" votes.

What Happens Next

City Administrator Dan Wietecha shared two more updates. First, the city hired Spheros Environmental, a hydrogeology firm (groundwater scientists), on Oct. 19 to see if Well No. 9 can work here. If it can't, Well No. 9 goes back to the old plan in Wallin Park.

Second, the state ranks water projects each year for funding. The western plant tied at No. 25 on this year's draft list. Last year it tied at No. 17. Wietecha said it didn't really slip. More cities just sent in strong projects this year.

The Bottom Line

The western plant finally has a spot, and it's not in a park. That's a win for neighbors who spoke up. It's also a reminder that showing up to meetings works.

These plants aren't cheap, and they're a big reason your Hastings water bill is going up. It's also why the city sued 3M over our drinking water. Catch up on the $15.3 million eastern plant contract too. For the city's official updates, see its water treatment plant projects page, the PFAS updates page and the PFAS FAQ.