2007 Minnesota Statutes

116J.555 PRIORITIES.
    Subdivision 1. Priorities. (a) The legislature expects that applications for grants will exceed
the available appropriations and the agency will be able to provide grants to only some of the
applicant development authorities.
    (b) If applications for grants for qualified sites exceed the available appropriations, the
agency shall make grants for sites that, in the commissioner's judgment, provide the highest return
in public benefits for the public costs incurred and that meet all the requirements provided by law.
In making this judgment, the commissioner shall consider the following factors:
    (1) the recommendations or ranking of projects by the commissioner of the Pollution Control
Agency regarding the potential threat to public health and the environment that would be reduced
or eliminated by completion of each of the response action plans;
    (2) the potential increase in the property tax base of the local taxing jurisdictions, considered
relative to the fiscal needs of the jurisdictions, that will result from developments that will occur
because of completion of each of the response action plans;
    (3) the social value to the community of the cleanup and redevelopment of the site, including
the importance of development of the proposed public facilities on each of the sites;
    (4) the probability that each site will be cleaned up without use of government money in
the reasonably foreseeable future by considering but not limited to the current market value
of the site versus the cleanup cost;
    (5) the amount of cleanup costs for each site; and
    (6) the amount of the commitment of municipal or other local resources to pay for the
cleanup costs.
    The factors are not listed in a rank order of priority; rather the commissioner may weigh each
factor, depending upon the facts and circumstances, as the commissioner considers appropriate.
The commissioner may consider other factors that affect the net return of public benefits for
completion of the response action plan. The commissioner, notwithstanding the listing of priorities
and the goal of maximizing the return of public benefits, shall make grants that distribute available
money to sites both within and outside of the metropolitan area. The commissioner shall provide a
written statement of the supporting reasons for each grant. Unless sufficient applications are not
received for qualifying sites outside of the metropolitan area, at least 25 percent of the money
provided as grants must be made for sites located outside of the metropolitan area.
    Subd. 2. Application cycles; reporting to legislature. (a) In making grants, the
commissioner shall establish semiannual application deadlines in which grants will be authorized
from all or part of the available appropriations of money in the account.
(b) After each semiannual cycle in which grants are awarded, the commissioner shall report
to the environment and natural resources committees of the senate and house of representatives,
the Finance Division of the senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, and the
house of representatives Committee on Environment and Natural Resources finance the grants
awarded and appropriate supporting information describing each grant made. This report must be
made within 30 days after the grants are awarded.
(c) The commissioner shall annually report to the legislative committees in paragraph (b)
on the status of the cleanup projects undertaken under grants made under the programs. The
commissioner shall include in the annual report information on the cleanup and development
activities undertaken for the grants made in that and previous fiscal years. The commissioner shall
make this report no later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year.
History: 1993 c 375 art 13 s 5; 1995 c 224 s 54; 1995 c 255 art 2 s 2; 1996 c 470 s 27;
2007 c 135 art 2 s 8