HF 3753

as introduced - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020) Posted on 04/30/2020 09:52am

A bill for an act
relating to environment; requiring analysis of certain demographic factors in permits
and environmental review documents; amending Minnesota Statutes 2018, sections
116.07, subdivision 4a, by adding a subdivision; 116D.04, by adding a subdivision.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 116.07, subdivision 4a, is amended to read:

Subd. 4a.

Permits.

(a) The Pollution Control Agency may issue, continue in effect or
deny permits, under such conditions as it may prescribe for the prevention of pollution, for
the emission of air contaminants, or for the installation or operation of any emission facility,
air contaminant treatment facility, treatment facility, potential air contaminant storage
facility, or storage facility, or any part thereof, or for the sources or emissions of noise
pollution.

The Pollution Control Agency may also issue, continue in effect or deny permits, under
such conditions as it may prescribe for the prevention of pollution, for the storage, collection,
transportation, processing, or disposal of waste, or for the installation or operation of any
system or facility, or any part thereof, related to the storage, collection, transportation,
processing, or disposal of waste.

deleted text begin The agency may not issue a permit to a facility without analyzing and considering the
cumulative levels and effects of past and current environmental pollution from all sources
on the environment and residents of the geographic area within which the facility's emissions
are likely to be deposited, provided that the facility is located in a community in a city of
the first class in Hennepin County that meets all of the following conditions:
deleted text end

deleted text begin (1) is within a half mile of a site designated by the federal government as an EPA
superfund site due to residential arsenic contamination;
deleted text end

deleted text begin (2) a majority of the population are low-income persons of color and American Indians;
deleted text end

deleted text begin (3) a disproportionate percent of the children have childhood lead poisoning, asthma,
or other environmentally related health problems;
deleted text end

deleted text begin (4) is located in a city that has experienced numerous air quality alert days of dangerous
air quality for sensitive populations between February 2007 and February 2008; and
deleted text end

deleted text begin (5) is located near the junctions of several heavily trafficked state and county highways
and two one-way streets which carry both truck and auto traffic.
deleted text end

The Pollution Control Agency may revoke or modify any permit issued under this
subdivision and section 116.081 whenever it is necessary, in the opinion of the agency, to
prevent or abate pollution.

(b) The Pollution Control Agency has the authority for approval over the siting,
expansion, or operation of a solid waste facility with regard to environmental issues.
However, the agency's issuance of a permit does not release the permittee from any liability,
penalty, or duty imposed by any applicable county ordinances. Nothing in this chapter
precludes, or shall be construed to preclude, a county from enforcing land use controls,
regulations, and ordinances existing at the time of the permit application and adopted
pursuant to sections 366.10 to 366.181, 394.21 to 394.37, or 462.351 to 462.365, with regard
to the siting, expansion, or operation of a solid waste facility.

(c) Except as prohibited by federal law, a person may commence construction,
reconstruction, replacement, or modification of any facility prior to the issuance of a
construction permit by the agency.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 116.07, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 4l. new text end

new text begin Demographic analysis. new text end

new text begin The agency may not issue, renew, or approve a major
amendment to a permit without analyzing the demographic, social, and economic
characteristics of the population that will likely be exposed to the permitted facility's
estimated emissions or discharges or to other environmental and health risks posed by the
permitted facility. The analysis must include information that may indicate the exposed
population's heightened sensitivity to exposure to the incremental pollution emitted from
the facility seeking the permit or permit amendment and the exposed population's ability to
withstand, respond to, or recover from exposure to additional pollution. This information
must include, but is not limited to:
new text end

new text begin (1) racial and ethnic characteristics;
new text end

new text begin (2) income and poverty levels;
new text end

new text begin (3) the age distribution;
new text end

new text begin (4) the birth rate;
new text end

new text begin (5) education levels;
new text end

new text begin (6) the incidence of and hospital admission rates for respiratory disease, pulmonary
disease, cancer, diabetes, asthma, high levels of blood lead concentrations, compromised
immune systems, and other conditions that may be exacerbated by exposure to pollution;
new text end

new text begin (7) the incidence of substandard housing conditions;
new text end

new text begin (8) the proportion of the population without access to health insurance and medical care;
new text end

new text begin (9) the proportion of the population receiving public assistance and medical assistance;
new text end

new text begin (10) the incidence of poor nutrition;
new text end

new text begin (11) biomonitoring data indicating body burdens of environmental pollutants;
new text end

new text begin (12) the presence of subpopulations that may be particularly sensitive to exposure to
additional pollutants, including workers exposed to toxic chemicals in the workplace and
subsistence fishers and hunters;
new text end

new text begin (13) microclimate or topographical factors of the area that affect exposure levels;
new text end

new text begin (14) other environmental stressors, including but not limited to noise, that impact the
area population;
new text end

new text begin (15) cumulative levels and effects of past and current environmental pollution from all
sources, including mobile sources and toxic chemicals contaminating soils, on the
environment and population of the area; and
new text end

new text begin (16) how the factors examined under this paragraph may interact to increase the likelihood
of portions of the population sustaining an adverse effect from exposure to the incremental
pollution.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment and
applies to any permit issued, renewed, or for which a major amendment is approved on or
after that date.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 116D.04, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 2c. new text end

new text begin Demographic analysis. new text end

new text begin An environmental assessment worksheet and
environmental impact statement must contain demographic analysis of the population
exposed to the proposed project's impacts as required under section 116.07, subdivision 4l.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment and
applies to an environmental assessment worksheet that has been determined by a responsible
governmental unit to be complete on or after that date and to an environmental impact
statement determined by a responsible governmental unit to be adequate on or after that
date.
new text end