HF 3146

as introduced - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 04/08/2022 12:25pm

A bill for an act
relating to environment; modifying requirement to analyze and consider cumulative
pollution before issuing air quality permit; providing for identification of
environmental justice areas; requiring demographic analysis in certain
environmental permitting and review; making technical corrections; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2020, sections 116.06, subdivision 1, by adding subdivisions;
116.07, subdivision 4a, by adding subdivisions; 116D.04, by adding a subdivision;
proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 116.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 116.06, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Applicability.

The definitions given in this section shall obtain for the
purposes of sections 116.01 to deleted text begin 116.075 deleted text end new text begin 116.076 new text end except as otherwise expressly provided or
indicated by the context.

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 2020, section 116.06, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 6a. new text end

new text begin Commissioner. new text end

new text begin "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the Pollution
Control Agency.
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 2020, section 116.06, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 10a. new text end

new text begin Environmental justice. new text end

new text begin "Environmental justice" means that:
new text end

new text begin (1) communities of color, Indigenous communities, and low-income communities have
a healthy environment and are treated fairly when environmental statutes, rules, and policies
are developed, adopted, implemented, and enforced; and
new text end

new text begin (2) in all decisions that have the potential to affect the environment of an environmental
justice area or the public health of its residents, due consideration is given to the history of
the area's and its residents' cumulative exposure to pollutants and to any current
socioeconomic conditions that increase the physical sensitivity of those residents to additional
exposure to pollutants.
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. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 116.06, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 10b. new text end

new text begin Environmental justice area. new text end

new text begin "Environmental justice area" means one or
more census tracts in Minnesota:
new text end

new text begin (1) in which, based on the most recent data published by the United States Census Bureau:
new text end

new text begin (i) 40 percent or more of the population is nonwhite;
new text end

new text begin (ii) 35 percent or more of the households have an income at or below 200 percent of the
federal poverty level; or
new text end

new text begin (iii) 40 percent or more of the population over the age of five have limited English
proficiency; or
new text end

new text begin (2) located within Indian Country, as defined in United State Code, title 18, section 1151.
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. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 116.07, subdivision 4a, is amended to read:

Subd. 4a.

Permits.

(a) The deleted text begin Pollution Control Agency deleted text end new text begin commissioner new text end 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.

(b) The deleted text begin Pollution Control Agency deleted text end new text begin commissioner new text end 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.

(c) The deleted text begin agency deleted text end new text begin commissioner new text end may not issue deleted text begin a permit deleted text end new text begin , renew, or approve a major
amendment new text end to a facility new text begin permit that potentially increases pollution levels or the toxicity of
emissions in an environmental justice area new text end without analyzing and considering new text begin :
new text end

new text begin (1) new text end the cumulative levels and effects of past and current environmental pollution from
all sources on the environment and residents of the deleted text begin 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 new text begin
environmental justice area, including mobile sources and toxic chemicals contaminating
soils; and
new text end

new text begin (2) the demographic, social, and economic characteristics of the exposed population in
the environmental justice area that affect the population's sensitivity to exposure to additional
pollution, as required under subdivision 4m.
new 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

(d) The deleted text begin Pollution Control Agency deleted text end new text begin commissioner new text end may revoke or modify any permit issued
under this subdivision and section 116.081 whenever it is necessary, in the opinion of the
deleted text begin agency deleted text end new text begin commissioner new text end , to prevent or abate pollution.

(e) The deleted text begin Pollution Control Agency deleted text end new text begin commissioner new text end has the authority for approval over the
siting, expansion, or operation of a solid waste facility with regard to environmental issues.
However, deleted text begin the agency's deleted text end 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.

(f) Except as prohibited by federal law, a person may commence construction,
reconstruction, replacement, or modification of any facility deleted text begin prior to the issuance of a
construction permit by the agency deleted text end new text begin before the commissioner issues a construction permit new text end .

new text begin (g) A permit application must indicate whether the permit action sought is likely to
impact the environment or the health of residents of an environmental justice area and must
include the data used by the applicant to make the determination. If the application is filed
before the commissioner identifies all environmental justice areas in the state under section
116.076, the commissioner must determine whether, based on the application's projected
impacts of issuing the permit, the area impacted qualifies as an environmental justice area
and whether, as a result, a cumulative analysis is required.
new text end

new text begin (h) The commissioner must review the applicant's determination made under paragraph
(g), and is responsible for determining whether a proposed permit will impact the environment
or health of an environmental justice area.
new text end

new text begin (i) The agency's reasonable costs of complying with this subdivision are to be reimbursed
by the permit applicant.
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 application for a new permit, permit renewal, or major permit amendment filed
with the commissioner on or after that date.
new text end

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 116.07, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 4m. new text end

new text begin Demographic analysis. new text end

new text begin (a) A permit applicant subject to subdivision 4a,
paragraph (c), must provide the information listed in clauses (1) to (15), if available, in the
permit application. The commissioner, in collaboration with the State Demographic Center,
the Minnesota Department of Health, and other state agencies, must provide an applicant
with a list of sources for the information required in clauses (1) to (15). The information is
intended to indicate the degree of sensitivity of the exposed population to incremental
pollution emitted from a facility seeking a permit or permit amendment and the exposed
population's ability to withstand, respond to, or recover from exposure to additional pollution.
This required information includes:
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 low and very low food security, as defined by the United States
Department of Agriculture publication Food Security in the U.S., Definitions of Food
Security (2006 and as subsequently amended);
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; and
new text end

new text begin (15) 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 additional
pollution emitted by the permitted facility.
new text end

new text begin (b) A permit applicant must provide the information required under this subdivision to
the commissioner in a format and at a level of quality and completeness required by the
commissioner.
new text end

new text begin (c) The costs of complying with this subdivision must be paid by the permit applicant.
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 application for a new permit, permit renewal, or major permit amendment filed
with the commissioner on or after that date.
new text end

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 116.07, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 4n. new text end

new text begin Permits; environmental justice area. new text end

new text begin (a) At a public meeting held on a permit
application required to undergo a cumulative analysis under subdivision 4a, paragraph (c),
the commissioner must ensure that an accurate and complete reporting of public comments
is made part of the public record on which the decision on permit issuance is based.
new text end

new text begin (b) Notwithstanding any other law, the commissioner must, after reviewing the permit
application, the analysis of cumulative pollution conducted under subdivision 4a, paragraph
(c), the permit applicant's demographic analysis under subdivision 4m, and any additional
relevant information, including testimony and written comments received at a public meeting,
determine whether the incremental environmental impacts that would result in an
environmental justice area from approving the permit will, in conjunction with the cumulative
pollution impacts and any heightened sensitivity to additional pollution of residents of the
environmental justice area, cause or contribute to increased levels of environmental or health
impacts compared with denying the permit.
new text end

new text begin (b) If the commissioner determines that approving the permit would cause or contribute
to increased levels of environmental or health impacts compared with denying the permit,
the commissioner must:
new text end

new text begin (1) deny the permit; or
new text end

new text begin (2) place conditions on the permit that eliminate any contribution to increased levels of
environmental or health impacts from the permitted facility in an environmental justice
area.
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 application for a new permit, permit renewal, or major permit amendment filed
with the agency on or after that date.
new text end

Sec. 8.

new text begin [116.076] ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AREAS; BOUNDARIES; MAPS.
new text end

new text begin (a) No later than December 1, 2022, the commissioner must determine the boundaries
of all environmental justice areas in Minnesota. The determination of the geographic
boundaries of an environmental justice area may be appealed by filing a petition that contains
evidence to support amending the commissioner's determination. The petition must be
signed by at least ... residents of census tracts within or adjacent to the environmental justice
area, as determined by the commissioner. The commissioner may, after reviewing the
petition, amend the boundaries of an environmental justice area.
new text end

new text begin (b) The commissioner must post updated maps of each environmental justice area in the
state on the agency website.
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. 9.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, 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 that indicate that a proposed project increases pollution
levels or the toxicity of emissions in an environmental justice area, as defined under section
116.06, must contain a demographic analysis of the population exposed to the proposed
project's impacts as required under section 116.07, subdivision 4m.
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