HF 891

as introduced - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 02/08/2021 02:16pm

A bill for an act
relating to environment; modifying environmental review provisions; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2020, sections 116.07, subdivision 4a; 116D.04, subdivision
2a.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, 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.

(b) 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 (c) 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

deleted text begin (d) deleted text end new text begin (c) new 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.

deleted text begin (e) deleted text end new text begin (d) new text end 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.

deleted text begin (f) deleted text end new text begin (e) new text end 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.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 116D.04, subdivision 2a, is amended to read:

Subd. 2a.

When prepared.

(a) Where there is potential for significant environmental
effects resulting from any major governmental action, the action must be preceded by a
detailed environmental impact statement prepared by the responsible governmental unit.
The environmental impact statement must be an analytical rather than an encyclopedic
document that describes the proposed action in detail, analyzes its significant environmental
impacts, discusses appropriate alternatives to the proposed action and their impacts, and
explores methods by which adverse environmental impacts of an action could be mitigated.
The environmental impact statement must also analyze those economic, employment, and
sociological effects that cannot be avoided should the action be implemented. To ensure its
use in the decision-making process, the environmental impact statement must be prepared
as early as practical in the formulation of an action.

(b) The board shall by rule establish categories of actions for which environmental
impact statements and for which environmental assessment worksheets must be prepared
as well as categories of actions for which no environmental review is required under this
section. A mandatory environmental assessment worksheet is not required for the expansion
of an ethanol plant, as defined in section 41A.09, subdivision 2a, paragraph (b), or the
conversion of an ethanol plant to a biobutanol facility or the expansion of a biobutanol
facility as defined in section 41A.15, subdivision 2d, based on the capacity of the expanded
or converted facility to produce alcohol fuel, but must be required if the ethanol plant or
biobutanol facility meets or exceeds thresholds of other categories of actions for which
environmental assessment worksheets must be prepared. The responsible governmental unit
for an ethanol plant or biobutanol facility project for which an environmental assessment
worksheet is prepared is the state agency with the greatest responsibility for supervising or
approving the project as a whole.

(c) A mandatory environmental impact statement is not required for a facility or plant
located outside the seven-county metropolitan area that produces less than 125,000,000
gallons of ethanol, biobutanol, or cellulosic biofuel annually, or produces less than 400,000
tons of chemicals annually, if the facility or plant is: an ethanol plant, as defined in section
41A.09, subdivision 2a, paragraph (b); a biobutanol facility, as defined in section 41A.15,
subdivision 2d; or a cellulosic biofuel facility. A facility or plant that only uses a cellulosic
feedstock to produce chemical products for use by another facility as a feedstock is not
considered a fuel conversion facility as used in rules adopted under this chapter.

(d) The responsible governmental unit shall promptly publish notice of the completion
of an environmental assessment worksheet by publishing the notice in at least one newspaper
of general circulation in the geographic area where the project is proposed, by posting the
notice on a website that has been designated as the official publication site for publication
of proceedings, public notices, and summaries of a political subdivision in which the project
is proposed, or in any other manner determined by the board and shall provide copies of
the environmental assessment worksheet to the board and its member agencies. Comments
on the need for an environmental impact statement may be submitted to the responsible
governmental unit during a 30-day period following publication of the notice that an
environmental assessment worksheet has been completed. The responsible governmental
unit may extend the 30-day comment period for an additional 30 days one time. Further
extensions of the comment period may not be made unless approved by the project's proposer.
The responsible governmental unit's decision on the need for an environmental impact
statement must be based on the environmental assessment worksheet and the comments
received during the comment period, and must be made within 15 days after the close of
the comment period. The board's chair may extend the 15-day period by not more than 15
additional days upon the request of the responsible governmental unit. new text begin A person may not
appeal a negative declaration on the need for an environmental impact statement by asserting
material evidence that was not presented during the public comment period if the material
evidence was publicly available during the comment period.
new text end

(e) An environmental assessment worksheet must also be prepared for a proposed action
whenever material evidence accompanying a petition by not less than 100 individuals who
reside or own property in the state, submitted before the proposed project has received final
approval by the appropriate governmental units, demonstrates that, because of the nature
or location of a proposed action, there may be potential for significant environmental effects.
Petitions requesting the preparation of an environmental assessment worksheet must be
submitted to the board. The chair of the board shall determine the appropriate responsible
governmental unit and forward the petition to it. A decision on the need for an environmental
assessment worksheet must be made by the responsible governmental unit within 15 days
after the petition is received by the responsible governmental unit. The board's chair may
extend the 15-day period by not more than 15 additional days upon request of the responsible
governmental unit. new text begin A person may not appeal a dismissal of a petition by asserting material
evidence that was not included in the petition if the material evidence was publicly available
before the petition was filed.
new text end

(f) Except in an environmentally sensitive location where Minnesota Rules, part
4410.4300, subpart 29, item B, applies, the proposed action is exempt from environmental
review under this chapter and rules of the board, if:

(1) the proposed action is:

(i) an animal feedlot facility with a capacity of less than 1,000 animal units; or

(ii) an expansion of an existing animal feedlot facility with a total cumulative capacity
of less than 1,000 animal units;

(2) the application for the animal feedlot facility includes a written commitment by the
proposer to design, construct, and operate the facility in full compliance with Pollution
Control Agency feedlot rules; and

(3) the county board holds a public meeting for citizen input at least ten business days
before the Pollution Control Agency or county issuing a feedlot permit for the animal feedlot
facility unless another public meeting for citizen input has been held with regard to the
feedlot facility to be permitted. The exemption in this paragraph is in addition to other
exemptions provided under other law and rules of the board.

(g) The board may, before final approval of a proposed project, require preparation of
an environmental assessment worksheet by a responsible governmental unit selected by the
board for any action where environmental review under this section has not been specifically
provided for by rule or otherwise initiated.

(h) An early and open process must be used to limit the scope of the environmental
impact statement to a discussion of those impacts that, because of the nature or location of
the project, have the potential for significant environmental effects. The same process must
be used to determine the form, content, and level of detail of the statement as well as the
alternatives that are appropriate for consideration in the statement. In addition, the permits
that will be required for the proposed action must be identified during the scoping process.
Further, the process must identify those permits for which information will be developed
concurrently with the environmental impact statement. The board shall provide in its rules
for the expeditious completion of the scoping process. The determinations reached in the
process must be incorporated into the order requiring the preparation of an environmental
impact statement.

(i) The responsible governmental unit shall, to the extent practicable, avoid duplication
and ensure coordination between state and federal environmental review and between
environmental review and environmental permitting. Whenever practical, information
needed by a governmental unit for making final decisions on permits or other actions required
for a proposed project must be developed in conjunction with the preparation of an
environmental impact statement. When an environmental impact statement is prepared for
a project requiring multiple permits for which two or more agencies' decision processes
include either mandatory or discretionary hearings before a hearing officer before the
agencies' decision on the permit, the agencies may, notwithstanding any law or rule to the
contrary, conduct the hearings in a single consolidated hearing process if requested by the
proposer. All agencies having jurisdiction over a permit that is included in the consolidated
hearing shall participate. The responsible governmental unit shall establish appropriate
procedures for the consolidated hearing process, including procedures to ensure that the
consolidated hearing process is consistent with the applicable requirements for each permit
regarding the rights and duties of parties to the hearing, and shall use the earliest applicable
hearing procedure to initiate the hearing. All agencies having jurisdiction over a permit
identified in the draft environmental assessment worksheet scoping document must begin
reviewing any permit application upon publication of the notice of preparation of the
environmental impact statement.

(j) An environmental impact statement must be prepared and its adequacy determined
within 280 days after notice of its preparation unless the time is extended by consent of the
parties or by the governor for good cause. The responsible governmental unit shall determine
the adequacy of an environmental impact statement, unless within 60 days after notice is
published that an environmental impact statement will be prepared, the board chooses to
determine the adequacy of an environmental impact statement. If an environmental impact
statement is found to be inadequate, the responsible governmental unit has 60 days to prepare
an adequate environmental impact statement.

(k) The proposer of a specific action may include in the information submitted to the
responsible governmental unit a preliminary draft environmental impact statement under
this section on that action for review, modification, and determination of completeness and
adequacy by the responsible governmental unit. A preliminary draft environmental impact
statement prepared by the project proposer and submitted to the responsible governmental
unit must identify or include as an appendix all studies and other sources of information
used to substantiate the analysis contained in the preliminary draft environmental impact
statement. The responsible governmental unit shall require additional studies, if needed,
and obtain from the project proposer all additional studies and information necessary for
the responsible governmental unit to perform its responsibility to review, modify, and
determine the completeness and adequacy of the environmental impact statement.