1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to economic development; coordinating 
  1.3             drinking water and wastewater funding requests; 
  1.4             modifying prioritization process for water pollution 
  1.5             control funding; modifying metropolitan sewage sludge 
  1.6             disposal; authorizing rulemaking; amending Minnesota 
  1.7             Statutes 2000, sections 446A.07, subdivisions 4, 11, 
  1.8             by adding a subdivision; 473.516, subdivision 1. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 446A.07, 
  1.11  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  1.12     Subd. 4.  [INTENDED USE PLAN.] The pollution control agency 
  1.13  public facilities authority shall annually prepare and submit to 
  1.14  the United States Environmental Protection Agency an intended 
  1.15  use plan.  The plan must identify the intended uses of the 
  1.16  amounts available to the water pollution control revolving fund, 
  1.17  including a list of wastewater treatment and storm water 
  1.18  projects and all other eligible activities to be funded during 
  1.19  the fiscal year.  Information regarding eligible activities must 
  1.20  be submitted to the pollution control agency by the appropriate 
  1.21  state agency or department within 30 days of written 
  1.22  notification by the pollution control agency.  The pollution 
  1.23  control agency shall annually provide to the public facilities 
  1.24  authority a prioritized list of proposed wastewater and storm 
  1.25  water projects and an identification of those projects eligible 
  1.26  for placement on the intended use plan.  The pollution control 
  1.27  agency public facilities authority may not submit the plan until 
  2.1   it has received the review and comment of the authority 
  2.2   pollution control agency or until 30 days have elapsed since the 
  2.3   plan was submitted to the authority pollution control agency, 
  2.4   whichever occurs first.  In addition, the public facilities 
  2.5   authority shall offer municipalities seeking placement on the 
  2.6   intended use plan an opportunity to review and comment on the 
  2.7   document before it is adopted.  The intended use plan may be 
  2.8   amended to add additional projects for consideration for funding 
  2.9   as the public facilities authority determines funds are 
  2.10  available and additional projects are able to proceed. 
  2.11     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 446A.07, 
  2.12  subdivision 11, is amended to read: 
  2.13     Subd. 11.  [RULES OF AGENCY.] The agency shall adopt rules 
  2.14  relating to the procedure for preparation of the annual intended 
  2.15  use plan ranking and reviewing projects, certifying approved 
  2.16  projects to the public facilities authority for funding, and 
  2.17  other matters that the agency considers necessary for proper 
  2.18  loan the administration of the agency's duties as provided in 
  2.19  this section.  Eligible activities are those required under the 
  2.20  federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1987, as amended. 
  2.21     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 446A.07, is 
  2.22  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  2.23     Subd. 12.  [DESIGNATED GROWTH AREAS.] A municipality may 
  2.24  identify areas for new development that will connect to an 
  2.25  existing wastewater treatment system and are consistent with its 
  2.26  comprehensive land use plan as designated growth areas.  
  2.27  Notwithstanding subdivisions 10 and 11, the commissioner of the 
  2.28  pollution control agency, with concurrence from the authority 
  2.29  and commissioner of the state planning agency or the 
  2.30  metropolitan council, may place projects for new collection 
  2.31  systems in designated growth areas on the project priority list 
  2.32  with a minimum of 100 points in order to encourage future 
  2.33  development in areas of the state that are less environmentally 
  2.34  sensitive. 
  2.35     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 473.516, 
  2.36  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  3.1      Subdivision 1.  [ACQUISITION AND OPERATION.] Without 
  3.2   limiting the grant or enumeration of any of the powers conferred 
  3.3   on the council under sections 473.501 to 473.549, the council 
  3.4   shall have the specific power to acquire by purchase, lease, 
  3.5   condemnation, gift or grant any real or personal property, 
  3.6   positive and negative easements and water and air rights, and it 
  3.7   may construct, enlarge, improve, replace, repair, maintain and 
  3.8   operate waste facilities in the metropolitan area deemed to be 
  3.9   necessary or convenient in connection with the processing or 
  3.10  disposal of waste resulting from sewage treatment, and the 
  3.11  council may contract for the maintenance and operation of such 
  3.12  waste facilities, subject to the bidding requirements of section 
  3.13  473.523.  The council must ensure that each metropolitan 
  3.14  wastewater treatment plant must plan for and be capable of 
  3.15  adequate sewage sludge disposal capacity that equally disperses 
  3.16  servicing throughout the metropolitan area.  Septic system 
  3.17  sludge disposal must be provided by the council at the closest 
  3.18  wastewater treatment plant to the septic systems needing 
  3.19  maintenance and disposal.  The council may authorize towns and 
  3.20  townships to establish sites for the collection of sewage sludge 
  3.21  before ultimate disposal, and towns and townships may contract 
  3.22  with other cities for this purpose.  The council may accept for 
  3.23  processing waste derived from outside the metropolitan area in 
  3.24  the state, as well as waste derived from within the metropolitan 
  3.25  area, and may fix and collect fees and charges for the 
  3.26  acceptance of waste as the council determines to be reasonable, 
  3.27  but the fees and charges must be equitable to all metropolitan 
  3.28  sludge disposal users of the treatment systems. 
  3.29     Sec. 5.  [RULES.] 
  3.30     The pollution control agency and the public facilities 
  3.31  authority may adopt rules incorporating sections 1 and 2 using 
  3.32  the good cause exemption under Minnesota Statutes, section 
  3.33  14.388, clause (3). 
  3.34     Sec. 6.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.35     Section 4 is effective the day following final enactment.