Legislative Session number- 81

Bill Name: SF3443

E Relating to agriculture; requiring the commissioner of agriculture to develop
in conjunction with the university of Minnesota extension service innovative
educational and training programs addressing manure applicator concerns
including water quality protection and the development of manure management
plans, requiring the commissioner to appoint educational planning committees and
authorizing the commissioner to approve programs from private industry and
nonprofit organizations meeting minimum requirements for education, training and
certification; requiring the commissioner in conjunction with the university of
Minnesota extension service to continually review and update manure applicator
training manuals and examinations; requiring and providing for private manure
applicator certification after a certain date, fees, commercial animal waste
technician exception, restricting the application of animal waste from
registered feedlots to certified applicators; modifying certain feedlot permit
provisions; defining and providing for the calculation of animal units;
subjecting permits issued by the pollution control agency or counties to the
time deadline for agency action; prohibiting the PCA from imposing additional
conditions on feedlot permits after adoption of certain proposed rules,
exceptions; restricting the authority of the PCA to require feedlot upgrades;
modifying certain national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES)
permitting requirements, specifying certain permit status transfer criteria
development requirements of the commissioner in consultation with the feedlot
and manure management advisory committee; exempting livestock production
facilities from state ambient air quality standards during removal, specifying
certain limits and notice requirements; applying ambient air quality standards
at boundaries of farms containing livestock production facilities, exception for
certain air quality easements; prohibiting the PCA from requiring air emission
modeling for livestock systems with no hydrogen sulfide emission violations;
extending the authority of counties to issue administrative penalty orders
relating to solid and hazardous waste and authorizing issuance for feedlot
violations, making the forgiveness option mandatory and proportional and
expanding authorized uses of abated penalties; requiring the PCA to amend the
proposed permanent rules relating to animal feedlots and storage, transportation
and utilization of manure, requiring the removal of certain provisions,
prohibiting certain requirements and requiring the inclusion of certain
registration provisions and location restrictions; requiring the commissioner of
agriculture to convene a task force to review and analyze alternative sources of
funding sufficient to provide required upgrades for certain smaller feedlots and
report to the legislature by a certain date, placing a moratorium on upgrade
requirements for small feedlots until enactment of the funding proposal;
requiring the commissioner of the PCA to convene a workgroup to review and
propose design standards for liquid manure storage facilities in areas
susceptible to soil collapse and sinkhole formation, specifying certain
membership representation requirements and requiring the commissioner to submit
the findings and recommendations of the workgroup to the legislature by a
certain date; requiring the commissioner of agriculture to study and develop a
plan in conjunction with the university of Minnesota extension service for
innovative educational and training programs addressing manure applicator
concerns, requiring the appointment of educational planning committees and a
report with recommendations to the legislature by a certain date (ja)