1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to public utilities; providing for 
  1.3             jurisdiction by environmental quality board for 
  1.4             constructing transmission lines integral to a high 
  1.5             voltage transmission line project; adding a high 
  1.6             voltage transmission line that crosses the state 
  1.7             boundary to the definition of a large energy facility; 
  1.8             amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, sections 116C.57, 
  1.9             subdivision 2; and 216B.2421, subdivision 2. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 116C.57, 
  1.12  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.13     Subd. 2.  [DESIGNATION OF ROUTES; PROCEDURE.] (a) A utility 
  1.14  shall apply to the board in a form and manner prescribed by the 
  1.15  board for a permit for the construction of a high voltage 
  1.16  transmission line.  The application shall contain at least two 
  1.17  proposed routes.  Pursuant to sections 116C.57 to 116C.60, the 
  1.18  board shall study, and evaluate the type, design, routing, 
  1.19  right-of-way preparation and facility construction of any route 
  1.20  proposed in a utility's application and any other route the 
  1.21  board deems necessary which was proposed in a manner consistent 
  1.22  with rules adopted by the board concerning the form, content, 
  1.23  and timeliness of proposals for alternate routes provided, 
  1.24  however, that the board shall identify the alternative routes 
  1.25  prior to the commencement of public hearings thereon pursuant to 
  1.26  section 116C.58.  Within one year after the board's acceptance 
  1.27  of a utility's application, the board shall decide in accordance 
  2.1   with the criteria and standards specified in section 116C.55, 
  2.2   subdivision 2, and the considerations specified in section 
  2.3   116C.57, subdivision 4, which proposed route is to be 
  2.4   designated.  The board may extend for just cause the time 
  2.5   limitation for its decision for a period not to exceed 90 days.  
  2.6   When the board designates a route, it shall issue a permit for 
  2.7   the construction of a high voltage transmission line specifying 
  2.8   the type, design, routing, right-of-way preparation and facility 
  2.9   construction it deems necessary and with any other appropriate 
  2.10  conditions.  The board may order the construction of high 
  2.11  voltage transmission line facilities which are capable of 
  2.12  expansion in transmission capacity through multiple circuiting 
  2.13  or design modifications.  The board shall publish a notice of 
  2.14  its decision in the state register within 30 days of issuance of 
  2.15  the permit.  No high voltage transmission line shall be 
  2.16  constructed except on a route designated by the board, unless it 
  2.17  was exempted pursuant to subdivision 5. 
  2.18     (b) The board shall have and assert jurisdiction over the 
  2.19  routing and permitting of transmission lines less than 200 
  2.20  kilovolts and greater than 65 kilovolts and include such lines 
  2.21  in a construction permit for a proposed high voltage 
  2.22  transmission line if it determines that: 
  2.23     (1) the design and location of the transmission lines are 
  2.24  directly affected by decisions the board makes with respect to 
  2.25  the proposed high voltage transmission line; 
  2.26     (2) consideration of the transmission lines cannot be 
  2.27  readily separated from the proposed high voltage transmission 
  2.28  line; and 
  2.29     (3) separate consideration of the transmission lines from 
  2.30  the proposed high voltage transmission line would result in 
  2.31  significant impact to human settlement and the natural 
  2.32  environment.  
  2.33     (c) The provisions of section 116C.61 apply to all 
  2.34  transmission lines the board includes in a construction permit. 
  2.35     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 216B.2421, 
  2.36  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  3.1      Subd. 2.  [LARGE ENERGY FACILITY.] "Large energy facility" 
  3.2   means: 
  3.3      (a) any electric power generating plant or combination of 
  3.4   plants at a single site with a combined capacity of 80,000 
  3.5   kilowatts or more, or any facility of 50,000 kilowatts or more 
  3.6   which requires oil, natural gas, or natural gas liquids as a 
  3.7   fuel and for which an installation permit has not been applied 
  3.8   for by May 19, 1977 pursuant to Minn. Reg. APC 3(a); 
  3.9      (b) any high voltage transmission line with a capacity of 
  3.10  200 kilovolts or more and with more than 50 miles of its length 
  3.11  in Minnesota; or, any high voltage transmission line with a 
  3.12  capacity of 300 kilovolts or more with more than 25 miles of its 
  3.13  length in Minnesota; or any high voltage transmission line with 
  3.14  a capacity of 200 kilovolts or more that crosses the Minnesota 
  3.15  state boundary; 
  3.16     (c) any pipeline greater than six inches in diameter and 
  3.17  having more than 50 miles of its length in Minnesota used for 
  3.18  the transportation of coal, crude petroleum or petroleum fuels 
  3.19  or oil or their derivatives; 
  3.20     (d) any pipeline for transporting natural or synthetic gas 
  3.21  at pressures in excess of 200 pounds per square inch with more 
  3.22  than 50 miles of its length in Minnesota; 
  3.23     (e) any facility designed for or capable of storing on a 
  3.24  single site more than 100,000 gallons of liquefied natural gas 
  3.25  or synthetic gas; 
  3.26     (f) any underground gas storage facility requiring permit 
  3.27  pursuant to section 103I.681; 
  3.28     (g) any nuclear fuel processing or nuclear waste storage or 
  3.29  disposal facility; and 
  3.30     (h) any facility intended to convert any material into any 
  3.31  other combustible fuel and having the capacity to process in 
  3.32  excess of 75 tons of the material per hour. 
  3.33     Sec. 3.  [EFFECT ON PENDING APPLICATIONS.] 
  3.34     (a) A utility that has filed an application for a permit 
  3.35  under Minnesota Statutes, section 116C.57, subdivision 2, which 
  3.36  is pending approval of the environmental quality board as of 
  4.1   February 1, 1997, shall not be required to resubmit any 
  4.2   previously accepted permit applications or to reinitiate ongoing 
  4.3   permitting proceedings under that section as a result of the 
  4.4   enactment of section 1. 
  4.5      (b) Proceedings under Minnesota Statutes, section 216B.243, 
  4.6   for a certificate of need for a project that has a pending 
  4.7   application for a permit under Minnesota Statutes, section 
  4.8   116C.57, subdivision 2, as of February 1, 1997, must be 
  4.9   evaluated by the commission based on the criteria existing in 
  4.10  law and commission rules as of the effective date of this 
  4.11  section, with particular attention and emphasis given to the 
  4.12  those criteria that address regional and interstate effects and 
  4.13  benefits.  These proceedings must not be delayed by any 
  4.14  rulemaking the commission undertakes related to Minnesota 
  4.15  Statutes, section 216B.243. 
  4.16     Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.17     Section 2 is effective on the day following final enactment 
  4.18  and applies to projects for which actual construction has not 
  4.19  begun as of that date.