HF 1413

1st Engrossment - 79th Legislature (1995 - 1996) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to natural resources protection; requiring 
  1.3             disclosure of information to electric energy consumers 
  1.4             regarding reduction of mercury emissions related to 
  1.5             generation sources of electricity they consume; 
  1.6             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.7             chapter 116. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  [TITLE.] 
  1.10     Section 2 may be referred to as the mercury emissions 
  1.11  consumer information act of 1995. 
  1.12     Sec. 2.  [116.925] [ELECTRIC ENERGY; MERCURY EMISSIONS 
  1.13  REDUCTION DISCLOSURE.] 
  1.14     Subdivision 1.  [DISCLOSURE.] (a) To address the shared 
  1.15  responsibility between the providers and consumers of 
  1.16  electricity for the protection of Minnesota's lakes, each person 
  1.17  that sells electricity at retail or at wholesale in the state 
  1.18  shall provide each retail and each wholesale customer an annual 
  1.19  statement of the amount by which mercury emissions related to 
  1.20  the electricity controlled by the person that is derived from 
  1.21  mercury containing fuel have been reduced or increased from 
  1.22  emissions levels in the previous calendar year.  
  1.23     (b) For the purposes of this section: 
  1.24     (1) "mercury containing fuel" means fossil fuel, 
  1.25  refuse-derived fuel, solid waste, or any other fuel used in the 
  1.26  generation of electricity that may contain mercury; and 
  2.1      (2) "electricity controlled by the person" refers to all 
  2.2   electricity purchased or generated by the person making the 
  2.3   disclosure, whether for retail sale, wholesale sale, or use by 
  2.4   the person in this state. 
  2.5      Subd. 2.  [TIME AND CONTENT OF DISCLOSURE.] Disclosure must 
  2.6   be made not later than March 1 of each year and include mercury 
  2.7   emissions information from the most recent calendar year.  The 
  2.8   disclosure may be made as a billing statement insert or as a 
  2.9   separate mailing to each customer.  The disclosure must include: 
  2.10     (1) the percentage of the total quantity of electricity 
  2.11  controlled by the person that is derived from mercury containing 
  2.12  fuel and the increase or decrease of that percentage over the 
  2.13  previous year; 
  2.14     (2) the total amount of mercury emissions, expressed as 
  2.15  pounds per year and micrograms per kilowatt hour, for all 
  2.16  electricity controlled by the person that is derived from 
  2.17  mercury containing fuel; 
  2.18     (3) the annual amount, expressed as pounds per year and 
  2.19  micrograms per kilowatt hour, by which mercury emissions related 
  2.20  to the electricity controlled by the person that is derived from 
  2.21  mercury containing fuel has been reduced or increased; 
  2.22     (4) a statement which reads:  "Over 90 percent of the lakes 
  2.23  tested in Minnesota are sufficiently contaminated with mercury 
  2.24  to cause the Minnesota Department of Health to issue fish 
  2.25  consumption advisories.  Advisories are issued for fish that 
  2.26  contain more than 150 micrograms of mercury per kilogram of 
  2.27  fish.  Most of the mercury contamination in fish comes from air 
  2.28  pollution."; 
  2.29     (5) a summary of the measures the person making the 
  2.30  disclosure plans to take, or is taking, to reduce mercury 
  2.31  emissions in both the short and long term; and 
  2.32     (6) the steps the customer can take to reduce consumption 
  2.33  of electricity, thereby reducing the mercury emissions 
  2.34  attributable to consumption. 
  2.35     Subd. 3.  [DISCLOSURE TO AGENCY.] The person making the 
  2.36  disclosure described in subdivision 2 shall make a separate 
  3.1   disclosure to the agency on a quarterly basis for the first year 
  3.2   and annually thereafter.  This disclosure must include: 
  3.3      (1) a list of all generation sources that utilize mercury 
  3.4   containing fuel for the electricity controlled by the person; 
  3.5   and 
  3.6      (2) information for each source listed in clause (1)  
  3.7   stating the amount of electricity generated from that source, 
  3.8   total mercury emissions from that source, the total per kilowatt 
  3.9   hour mercury emissions from that source, and the average mercury 
  3.10  concentration in each fuel used at that source. 
  3.11     Subd. 4.  [MERCURY EMISSIONS INFORMATION; CERTIFICATION.] 
  3.12  (a) Mercury emissions information may reflect actual mercury 
  3.13  emissions monitoring data at a generation source or be based on 
  3.14  engineering estimates specific to that source.  Emissions and 
  3.15  fuel mercury content information must be certified as the best 
  3.16  reasonably available data on mercury emissions from each 
  3.17  generation source by the commissioner, for generation sources 
  3.18  located in the state, or by the head of the state agency 
  3.19  responsible for pollution control in the state where the 
  3.20  generation source is located. 
  3.21     (b) If neither certified emissions data nor certified 
  3.22  engineering estimates are available for a generation source, the 
  3.23  person making the disclosure shall calculate the emissions rate 
  3.24  for that source assuming 100 percent of the mercury content of 
  3.25  fuel is emitted.  In later disclosures, no reduction in 
  3.26  emissions may be claimed between the time a source is listed 
  3.27  without certified information and the time certified information 
  3.28  is listed for the source. 
  3.29     Sec. 3.  [BASE YEAR FOR 1996 DISCLOSURE.] 
  3.30     Persons required to make the disclosure to customers 
  3.31  described in Minnesota Statutes, section 116.925, subdivisions 1 
  3.32  and 2, shall begin collecting emissions data as of the effective 
  3.33  date of this act.  The first disclosure shall be made by March 
  3.34  1, 1996, but must only include such information required under 
  3.35  Minnesota Statutes, section 116.925, subdivision 2, that does 
  3.36  not require comparisons to be made to the previous calendar year.
  4.1   The first full disclosure to customers shall be made by March 1, 
  4.2   1997, and shall compare the emissions data from 1996 to the data 
  4.3   from 1995.  The person making the disclosure shall prorate the 
  4.4   date collected in 1995 to reflect data from a full calendar 
  4.5   year.  The first disclosure to the agency under Minnesota 
  4.6   Statutes, section 116.925, subdivision 3, shall be made by March 
  4.7   1, 1996.