Twin Cities Council to Pay $1-Million in River Pollution Lawsuits

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ The Metropolitan Council in St. Paul is paying manufacturing firm 3M Co. about $1 million to settle lawsuits over Mississippi River pollution.

Reports say the settlement Monday ends the lawsuits between the two entities, which blamed each other for chemicals found in the river in 2007.

In 2011, the Metropolitan Council joined the Minnesota attorney general's lawsuit against 3M for damage to the environment. The company filed a countersuit in 2012, saying the Metropolitan Council's seven sewage plants were also to blame.

A Metropolitan Council spokeswoman says the settlement saves ratepayers from the expense of prolonged litigation.

The company will use the money to remove chemicals from Minneapolis-area water. Documents show it already has spent over $100 million on cleanup since 2012.

The Metropolitan Council now has dropped out of the attorney general's lawsuit.