1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to economic development; modifying 
  1.3             requirements of the contamination cleanup grant 
  1.4             program; appropriating money; amending Minnesota 
  1.5             Statutes 1996, sections 116J.553, subdivision 2; and 
  1.6             116J.554, subdivision 1. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 116J.553, 
  1.9   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 2.  [REQUIRED CONTENT.] (a) The commissioner shall 
  1.11  prescribe and provide the application form.  Except as provided 
  1.12  in paragraph (b), the application must include at least the 
  1.13  following information: 
  1.14     (1) identification of the site; 
  1.15     (2) an approved response action plan for the site, 
  1.16  including the results of engineering and other tests showing the 
  1.17  nature and extent of the release or threatened release of 
  1.18  contaminants at the site; 
  1.19     (3) a detailed estimate, along with necessary supporting 
  1.20  evidence, of the total cleanup costs for the site; 
  1.21     (4) an appraisal of the current market value of the 
  1.22  property, separately taking into account the effect of the 
  1.23  contaminants on the market value, prepared by a qualified 
  1.24  independent appraiser using accepted appraisal methodology; 
  1.25     (5) an assessment of the development potential or likely 
  1.26  use of the site after completion of the response action plan, 
  2.1   including any specific commitments from third parties to 
  2.2   construct improvements on the site; 
  2.3      (6) the manner in which the municipality will meet the 
  2.4   local match requirement; and 
  2.5      (7) any additional information or material that the 
  2.6   commissioner prescribes. 
  2.7      (b) An application for a grant under section 116J.554, 
  2.8   subdivision 1, paragraph (b), must include a detailed estimate 
  2.9   of the cost of the actions for which the grant is sought, but 
  2.10  need not include the information specified in paragraph (a), 
  2.11  clauses (2) to (4) and (6). 
  2.12     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 116J.554, 
  2.13  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  2.14     Subdivision 1.  [AUTHORITY.] (a) The commissioner may make 
  2.15  a grant to an applicant development authority to pay for up to 
  2.16  75 percent of the cleanup costs for a qualifying site, except 
  2.17  the grant may not exceed or 50 percent of the project costs, 
  2.18  whichever is greater.  
  2.19     (b) The commissioner may also make a grant to an applicant 
  2.20  development authority to pay up to 75 percent or $50,000, 
  2.21  whichever is less, toward the cost of performing contaminant 
  2.22  investigations and the development of a response action plan for 
  2.23  a qualifying site. 
  2.24     (c) The determination of whether to make a grant for a 
  2.25  qualifying site is within the sole discretion of the 
  2.26  commissioner, subject to the process provided by this section, 
  2.27  and available unencumbered money in the appropriation.  The 
  2.28  commissioner's decisions and application of the priorities under 
  2.29  section 116J.555 are not subject to judicial review, except for 
  2.30  abuse of discretion. 
  2.31     (d) The total amount of money provided in grants under 
  2.32  paragraph (b) may not exceed $250,000 per fiscal year. 
  2.33     (e) In making grants under paragraph (b), the commissioner 
  2.34  shall give priority to applicants that have not received a grant 
  2.35  under paragraph (a) or section 473.252 during the year ending on 
  2.36  the date of application. 
  3.1      Sec. 3.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.2      $8,000,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  3.3   commissioner of trade and economic development for grants under 
  3.4   Minnesota Statutes, sections 116J.551 to 116J.558.  The 
  3.5   legislature intends that this amount be included in the base for 
  3.6   budget purposes.