Minnesota Legislature
HF 2273
as introduced - 87th Legislature (2011 - 2012) Posted on 02/15/2012 01:55pm
Current Version - as introduced
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A bill for an act
relating to environment; providing for automatic approval of minor permits and
minor permit amendments if timely action is not taken; prohibiting adoption
of water quality standards more restrictive than federal standards; requiring
deposit of monetary penalties from environmental violations be redirected to
general fund; creating citizen's board; modifying content requirements for
environmental review; amending Minnesota Statutes 2010, sections 115.073;
116.02, subdivisions 1, 2, 3, 4, 6; 116.03, subdivision 1; 116D.04, by adding a
subdivision; Minnesota Statutes 2011 Supplement, sections 84.027, subdivision
14a; 116.03, subdivision 2b; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota
Statutes, chapter 115; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 116.02,
subdivisions 7, 8.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1.
Minnesota Statutes 2011 Supplement, section 84.027, subdivision 14a,
is amended to read:
Subd. 14a.
Permitting efficiency.
(a) It is the goal of the state that environmental
and resource management permits be issued or denied within 150 days of the submission
of a substantially completed permit application. The commissioner of natural resources
shall establish management systems designed to achieve the goal.
(b) The commissioner shall prepare semiannual permitting efficiency reports that
include statistics on meeting the goal in paragraph (a). The reports are due February 1
and August 1 each year. For permit applications that have not met the goal, the report
must state the reasons for not meeting the goal, steps that will be taken to complete action
on the application, and the expected timeline. In stating the reasons for not meeting the
goal, the commissioner shall separately identify delays caused by the responsiveness of
the proposer, lack of staff, scientific or technical disagreements, or the level of public
engagement. The report must specify the number of days from initial submission of the
application to the day of determination that the application is complete. The report for
August 1 each year must aggregate the data for the year and assess whether program
or system changes are necessary to achieve the goal. The report must be posted on the
department's Web site and submitted to the governor and the chairs and ranking minority
members of the house of representatives and senate committees having jurisdiction over
natural resources policy and finance.
(c) The commissioner shall allow electronic submission of environmental review
and permit documents to the department.
(d) Beginning July 1, 2011, within 30 business days of application for a permit
subject to paragraph (a), the commissioner of natural resources shall notify the project
proposer, in writing, of whether or not the permit application is complete enough for
processing. If the permit is incomplete, the commissioner must identify where deficiencies
exist and advise the applicant on how they can be remedied. A resubmittal of the
application begins a new 30-day review period. If the commissioner fails to notify the
project proposer of completeness within 30 business days, the application is deemed to be
substantially complete and subject to the 150-day permitting review period in paragraph
(a) from the date it was submitted. This paragraph does not apply to an application for a
permit that is subject to a grant or loan agreement under chapter 446A.
new text begin
(e) The commissioner shall approve or deny within 60 days an application for a
minor permit or a minor permit amendment. Failure of the commissioner to deny an
application for a minor permit or minor permit amendment within 60 days is approval of
the permit. If the commissioner receives an application that does not contain all required
information, the 60-day limit starts over only if the commissioner notifies the applicant
as required under paragraph (d).
new text end
new text begin
(f) By July 1, 2012, the commissioner shall review all types of permits issued by the
department, determine the permit and amendment types the commissioner deems minor
for purposes of paragraph (e), and post a list of the permit and amendment types on the
department's Web site. The commissioner shall periodically review, update, and post the
list of permits and permit amendment types subject to paragraph (e) at least every five
years. Permits and permit amendments may not be deemed minor under this paragraph
if approval of a permit or permit amendment according to paragraph (e) would be in
violation of federal law.
new text end
new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
new text begin
Paragraph (f) is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end
Sec. 2.
new text begin
[115.035] WATER QUALITY STANDARDS NO MORE RESTRICTIVE
THAN FEDERAL STANDARDS.
new text end
new text begin
Notwithstanding section 115.03 or 115.44 or any other law to the contrary, the
commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency shall not adopt water quality standards that
are more restrictive than federal water quality standards after June 30, 2012. Water quality
standards that were adopted before that date and that exceed federal standards remain in
effect, but shall not be made more restrictive unless required under federal law.
new text end
new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
new text begin
This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end
Sec. 3.
Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 115.073, is amended to read:
115.073 ENFORCEMENT FUNDING.
Except as provided in section 115C.05, all money recovered by the state under this
chapter and chapters 115A and 116, including civil penalties and money paid under an
agreement, stipulation, or settlement, excluding money paid for past due fees or taxes,
must be deposited in the state treasury and credited to the deleted text begin environmentaldeleted text end new text begin generalnew text end fund.
new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
new text begin
This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end
Sec. 4.
Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 116.02, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1.
Creation.
A pollution control agency, designated as the Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency, deleted text begin isdeleted text end new text begin and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Citizen's Board
arenew text end hereby created. The deleted text begin agencydeleted text end new text begin Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Citizen's Boardnew text end shall
consist of the commissioner and eight members appointed by the governor, by and with the
advice and consent of the senate. One of such members shall be a person knowledgeable
in the field of agriculture and one shall be representative of organized labor.
Sec. 5.
Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 116.02, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2.
Terms, compensation, removal, vacancies.
The membership terms,
compensation, removal of members, and filling of vacancies on the deleted text begin agencydeleted text end new text begin Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency Citizen's Boardnew text end shall be as provided in section 15.0575.
Sec. 6.
Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 116.02, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3.
Membership.
The membership of the new text begin Minnesota new text end Pollution Control Agency
new text begin Citizen's Board new text end shall be broadly representative of the skills and experience necessary to
effectuate the policy of sections 116.01 to 116.075, except that no member other than the
commissioner shall be an officer or employee of the state or federal government. Only two
members at one time may be officials or employees of a municipality or any governmental
subdivision, but neither may be a member ex officio or otherwise on the management
board of a municipal sanitary sewage disposal system.
Sec. 7.
Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 116.02, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4.
Chair.
The commissioner shall serve as chair of the deleted text begin agencydeleted text end new text begin Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency Citizen's Boardnew text end . The deleted text begin agencydeleted text end new text begin Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency Citizen's Boardnew text end shall elect such other officers as it deems necessary.
Sec. 8.
Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 116.02, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd. 6.
Required decisions.
The deleted text begin agencydeleted text end new text begin Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Citizen's Boardnew text end shallnew text begin :
new text end
new text begin (1)new text end make final decisions on deleted text begin the following matters:
deleted text end
deleted text begin
(1) a petition for the preparation of an environmental assessment worksheet, if the
project proposer or a person commenting on the proposal requests that the decision be
made by the agency and the agency requests that it make the decision under subdivision 8;
deleted text end
deleted text begin
(2) the need for an environmental impact statement following preparation of an
environmental assessment worksheet under applicable rules, if:
deleted text end
deleted text begin
(i) the agency has received a request for an environmental impact statement;
deleted text end
deleted text begin
(ii) the project proposer or a person commenting on the proposal requests that the
declaration be made by the agency and the agency requests that it make the decision
under subdivision 8; or
deleted text end
deleted text begin
(iii) the commissioner is recommending preparation of an environmental impact
statement;
deleted text end
deleted text begin
(3) the scope and adequacy of environmental impact statements;
deleted text end
deleted text begin
(4) issuance, reissuance, modification, or revocation of a permit if:
deleted text end
deleted text begin
(i) a variance is sought in the permit application or a contested case hearing request
is pending; or
deleted text end
deleted text begin
(ii) the permit applicant, the permittee, or a person commenting on the permit action
requests that the decision be made by the agency and the agency requests that it make
the decision under subdivision 8;
deleted text end
deleted text begin (5) finaldeleted text end adoption or amendment of deleted text begin agency rules for which a public hearing is
required under section 14.25 or for which the commissioner decides to proceed directly to
a public hearing under section 14.14, subdivision 1deleted text end new text begin rules implementing the substantive
statutes charged to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for administrationnew text end ;
deleted text begin
(6) approval or denial of an application for a variance from an agency rule if:
deleted text end
deleted text begin
(i) granting the variance request would change an air, soil, or water quality standard;
deleted text end
deleted text begin
(ii) the commissioner has determined that granting the variance would have a
significant environmental impact; or
deleted text end
deleted text begin
(iii) the applicant or a person commenting on the variance request requests that the
decision be made by the agency and the agency requests that it make the decision under
subdivision 8; and
deleted text end
deleted text begin
(7) whether to reopen, rescind, or reverse a decision of the agency.
deleted text end
new text begin
(2) make additional decisions in response to the commissioner's request; and
new text end
new text begin
(3) provide advice to the commissioner at the commissioner's request.
new text end
Sec. 9.
Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 116.03, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1.
Office.
(a) The Office of Commissioner of the Pollution Control
Agency is created and is under the supervision and control of the commissioner, who is
appointed by the governor under the provisions of section 15.06.
(b) The commissioner may appoint a deputy commissioner and assistant
commissioners who shall be in the unclassified service.
(c) The commissioner shall make all decisions on behalf of the agency deleted text begin that are not
required to be made by the agencydeleted text end new text begin other than rulemaking decisions to be made by the
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Citizen's Boardnew text end under section 116.02.
Sec. 10.
Minnesota Statutes 2011 Supplement, section 116.03, subdivision 2b, is
amended to read:
Subd. 2b.
Permitting efficiency.
(a) It is the goal of the state that environmental and
resource management permits be issued or denied within 150 days of the submission of a
substantially completed permit application. The commissioner of the Pollution Control
Agency shall establish management systems designed to achieve the goal.
(b) The commissioner shall prepare semiannual permitting efficiency reports that
include statistics on meeting the goal in paragraph (a). The reports are due February 1
and August 1 each year. For permit applications that have not met the goal, the report
must state the reasons for not meeting the goal, steps that will be taken to complete action
on the application, and the expected timeline. In stating the reasons for not meeting the
goal, the commissioner shall separately identify delays caused by the responsiveness of
the proposer, lack of staff, scientific or technical disagreements, or the level of public
engagement. The report must specify the number of days from initial submission of the
application to the day of determination that the application is complete. The report for
August 1 each year must aggregate the data for the year and assess whether program
or system changes are necessary to achieve the goal. The report must be posted on the
agency's Web site and submitted to the governor and the chairs and ranking minority
members of the house of representatives and senate committees having jurisdiction over
environment policy and finance.
(c) The commissioner shall allow electronic submission of environmental review
and permit documents to the agency.
(d) Beginning July 1, 2011, within 30 business days of application for a permit
subject to paragraph (a), the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency shall notify
the project proposer, in writing, of whether or not the permit application is complete
enough for processing. If the permit is incomplete, the commissioner must identify where
deficiencies exist and advise the applicant on how they can be remedied. A resubmittal of
the application begins a new 30-day review period. If the commissioner fails to notify the
project proposer of completeness within 30 business days, the application is deemed to be
substantially complete and subject to the 150-day permitting review period in paragraph
(a) from the date it was submitted. This paragraph does not apply to an application for a
permit that is subject to a grant or loan agreement under chapter 446A.
new text begin
(e) The commissioner shall approve or deny within 60 days an application for a
minor permit or minor permit amendment. Failure of the commissioner to deny an
application for a minor permit or minor permit amendment within 60 days is approval of
the permit. If the commissioner receives an application that does not contain all required
information, the 60-day limit starts over only if the commissioner notifies the applicant
as required under paragraph (d).
new text end
new text begin
(f) By July 1, 2012, the commissioner shall review all types of permits issued by
the agency, determine the permit and amendment types the commissioner deems minor
for purposes of paragraph (e), and post a list of the permit and amendment types on the
agency's Web site. The commissioner shall periodically review, update, and post the
list of permits and permit amendment types subject to paragraph (e) at least every five
years. Permits and permit amendments may not be deemed minor under this paragraph
if approval of a permit or permit amendment according to paragraph (e) would be in
violation of federal law.
new text end
new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
new text begin
Paragraph (f) is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end
Sec. 11.
Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 116D.04, is amended by adding a
subdivision to read:
new text begin Subd. 15. new text end
new text begin
Duplicative permit information; environmental assessment
worksheets.
new text end
new text begin
The board shall not require, unless necessary, information in an
environmental assessment worksheet for a proposed action when the information is also
required as part of any necessary permitting process for the proposed action.
new text end
Sec. 12. new text begin REPEALER.
new text end
new text begin
Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 116.02, subdivisions 7 and 8,
new text end
new text begin
are repealed.
new text end