HF 4503

as introduced - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020) Posted on 03/16/2020 10:02am

A bill for an act
relating to natural resources; reestablishing Advisory Council on Water Supply
Systems and Wastewater Treatment Facilities; appropriating money for wastewater
and storm water infrastructure; amending Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 115.71,
subdivision 4; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 115.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 115.71, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Council.

"Council" means the deleted text begin Water and Wastewater Treatment Operators
Advisory Council deleted text end new text begin Advisory Council on Water Supply Systems and Wastewater Treatment
Facilities new text end established by section deleted text begin 115.741 deleted text end new text begin 115.742 new text end .

Sec. 2.

new text begin [115.742] ADVISORY COUNCIL ON WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS AND
WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITIES.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Purpose; membership. new text end

new text begin The Advisory Council on Water Supply Systems
and Wastewater Treatment Facilities advises the commissioners of health and the Pollution
Control Agency regarding classification of water supply systems and wastewater treatment
facilities; qualifications and competency evaluation of water supply system operators and
wastewater treatment facility operators; and additional laws, rules, and procedures that may
be desirable for regulating the operation of water supply systems and wastewater treatment
facilities. The advisory council is composed of 11 voting members, of whom:
new text end

new text begin (1) one member must be from the Department of Health, Division of Environmental
Health, appointed by the commissioner of health;
new text end

new text begin (2) one member must be from the Pollution Control Agency, appointed by the
commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency;
new text end

new text begin (3) three members must be certified water supply system operators, appointed by the
commissioner of health, one of whom must represent a nonmunicipal community water
system or a nontransient noncommunity water system;
new text end

new text begin (4) three members must be certified wastewater treatment facility operators, appointed
by the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency;
new text end

new text begin (5) one member must be a representative from an organization representing municipalities,
appointed by the commissioner of health with the concurrence of the commissioner of the
Pollution Control Agency; and
new text end

new text begin (6) two members must be members of the public who are not associated with water
supply systems or wastewater treatment facilities, one appointed by the commissioner of
health and one appointed by the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency.
Consideration should be given to one of these members being a representative of academia
knowledgeable in water or wastewater matters.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Members; geographic representation. new text end

new text begin At least one of the water supply system
operators and at least one of the wastewater treatment facility operators must be from outside
the seven-county metropolitan area and one wastewater operator must come from the
Metropolitan Council.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Terms; compensation. new text end

new text begin The terms of the appointed members and the
compensation and removal of all members are governed by section 15.059.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Officers. new text end

new text begin When new members are appointed to the council, a chair must be
elected at the next council meeting. The Department of Health representative serves as
secretary of the council.
new text end

Sec. 3. new text begin WASTEWATER AND STORM WATER INFRASTRUCTURE;
APPROPRIATIONS.
new text end

new text begin (a) $....... in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner
of the Pollution Control Agency, in cooperation with the Minnesota Rural Water Association,
to accelerate and enhance cost-effectiveness plan reviews and asset management plans for
wastewater treatment facilities and to encourage innovative best management practices at
wastewater and storm water facilities.
new text end

new text begin (b) $....... in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner
of the Pollution Control Agency for grants to the Minnesota Rural Water Association and
to the Minnesota technical assistance program of the University of Minnesota to provide
assistance, training, tool development, and technical assistance to facilitate adopting
innovative best management practices at wastewater and storm water facilities. Of this
amount, $....... is for a grant to the Minnesota Rural Water Association and $....... is for a
grant to the Minnesota technical assistance program of the University of Minnesota.
new text end

new text begin (c) $....... in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner
of the Pollution Control Agency to prepare plans to address areas with the most leaking
septic systems and subsurface treatment facilities and to provide technical assistance, grants,
and other financial assistance to incentivize upgrades, replacements, and alternatives to
improve water quality for areas with limited resources. By January 15, 2021, the
commissioner must submit the plan to the chairs and ranking minority members of the house
of representatives and senate committees and divisions with jurisdiction over agriculture
and environment and natural resources.
new text end

new text begin (d) $....... in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner
of the Pollution Control Agency to assess, encourage, develop, and implement wastewater
infrastructure alternatives to cost-effectively maximize wastewater treatment, including
plan development, regionalization, and cooperative management. The commissioner may
work with the Minnesota technical assistance program at the University of Minnesota to
implement this paragraph.
new text end

new text begin (e) $....... in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner
of the Pollution Control Agency to develop and implement market-based water quality
trading options for wastewater and storm water in several areas of the state.
new text end

new text begin (f) $....... in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner
of the Pollution Control Agency, in cooperation with the commissioner of health, to identify
and address areas where subsurface sewage treatment systems pose the most serious risk
to the environment and human health and to provide technical assistance, grants, and other
financial assistance to incentivize upgrades, replacements, and alternatives to improve water
quality.
new text end

new text begin (g) $....... in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated to the commissioner of the Pollution Control
Agency to create a pilot regional wastewater coordinator-facilitator position within a regional
development organization, or at the University of Minnesota, to assist in regional training
programs to encourage cross-jurisdictional cooperation and to promote cost-effective and
innovative wastewater practices.
new text end

new text begin (h) $....... in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated from the general fund to the Board of Regents
of the University of Minnesota for a small wastewater innovation center, which must
coordinate stakeholder input on research and technology transfer needs; provide technical
facility support through regional offices to provide facilitation, advocacy, technical, and
management support; perform a technical and economic evaluation of current permitting
limits and rules to determine whether changes are needed based on risk; and conduct research
related to cost-effective wastewater treatment solutions for small communities.
new text end

new text begin (i) The appropriations in this section are onetime and are available until June 30, 2021.
new text end