HF 167

1st Engrossment - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020) Posted on 03/18/2019 10:10pm

A bill for an act
relating to environment; providing for offers of supplemental environmental projects
in conjunction with certain enforcement actions against polluters; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 16A.151, subdivision 2; proposing coding for
new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 116.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 16A.151, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Exceptions.

(a) If a state official litigates or settles a matter on behalf of specific
injured persons or entities, this section does not prohibit distribution of money to the specific
injured persons or entities on whose behalf the litigation or settlement efforts were initiated.
If money recovered on behalf of injured persons or entities cannot reasonably be distributed
to those persons or entities because they cannot readily be located or identified or because
the cost of distributing the money would outweigh the benefit to the persons or entities, the
money must be paid into the general fund.

(b) Money recovered on behalf of a fund in the state treasury other than the general fund
may be deposited in that fund.

(c) This section does not prohibit a state official from distributing money to a person or
entity other than the state in litigation or potential litigation in which the state is a defendant
or potential defendant.

(d) State agencies may accept funds as directed by a federal court for any restitution or
monetary penalty under United States Code, title 18, section 3663(a)(3) or United States
Code, title 18, section 3663A(a)(3). Funds received must be deposited in a special revenue
account and are appropriated to the commissioner of the agency for the purpose as directed
by the federal court.

(e) Tobacco settlement revenues as defined in section 16A.98, subdivision 1, paragraph
(t), may be deposited as provided in section 16A.98, subdivision 12.

new text begin (f) This section does not prohibit an entity that has entered into a settlement agreement
with the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency from contributing money to support
a public health supplemental environmental project under section 116.0735 that would result
in money being distributed to a person or entity other than the state.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 2.

new text begin [116.0735] SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have
the meanings given.
new text end

new text begin (b) "Agency" means the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
new text end

new text begin (c) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
new text end

new text begin (d) "Noncompliance" means:
new text end

new text begin (1) violation by a regulated facility of a quantitative pollution emissions limit contained
in a state or federal statute or rule or in a permit issued by the agency; or
new text end

new text begin (2) release of a pollutant or hazardous substance, as defined in section 115B.02.
new text end

new text begin (e) "Public health supplemental environmental project" means a supplemental
environmental project that provides diagnostic, preventive, or health care treatment related
to the actual or potential harm to human health of persons exposed to pollution as a result
of a regulated facility's noncompliance. Public health supplemental environmental project
includes but is not limited to collection and analysis of epidemiological data; collection and
analysis of blood, fluid, or tissue samples; medical examinations of potentially affected
persons; and medical treatment and rehabilitation therapy of persons determined to be
affected by pollution from a noncompliant regulated facility.
new text end

new text begin (f) "Supplemental environmental project" means a project that benefits the environment
or public health and that a regulated facility agrees to undertake, though not legally required
to do so, as part of a settlement with respect to an enforcement action taken by the agency
to resolve noncompliance.
new text end

new text begin (g) "Supplemental environmental project type" or "project type" means a category of
supplemental environmental project, such as pollution prevention, environmental protection
and restoration, public health, and others, as enumerated in the agency's "Discussion of
Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) as a means to achieve Pollution Prevention
or other Environmental Gains," October 2009, or successor agency guidance documents.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Supplemental environmental project. new text end

new text begin The commissioner may offer a regulated
facility subject to an agency enforcement action the option to conduct, or pay for a third
party to conduct, a supplemental environmental project whenever the commissioner
determines it to be in the public interest.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Public health supplemental environmental project. new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner
must offer a regulated facility subject to an agency enforcement action the option to conduct,
or pay for a third party to conduct, a public health supplemental environmental project
whenever the commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of health, determines
that pollution resulting from noncompliance may result in measurable impacts on the health
of the population exposed to the pollution. In making this determination, the commissioner
must consider:
new text end

new text begin (1) the extent and duration of the pollution;
new text end

new text begin (2) the nature of the pollutant and its potential effect on human health, taking into
consideration its tendency to:
new text end

new text begin (i) persist and bioaccumulate in the body;
new text end

new text begin (ii) produce adverse human health effects at very low levels of concentration; and
new text end

new text begin (iii) be associated with harmful reproductive or developmental impacts;
new text end

new text begin (3) the level of concern expressed by the population exposed to the pollutant regarding
potential health effects from exposure;
new text end

new text begin (4) the cumulative levels and effects of past and current pollution from all sources on
the exposed population; and
new text end

new text begin (5) demographic, economic, and social characteristics of the population exposed to the
pollutant that may impair the population's ability to withstand, respond to, or recover from
the exposure or that increase the population's likelihood of sustaining an adverse effect from
the exposure.
new text end

new text begin (b) The commissioner and the commissioner of health must approve the content of a
public health supplemental environmental project and, after the project is completed, must
certify that all project activities were adequately carried out.
new text end

new text begin (c) The requirements of this subdivision do not affect the commissioner's authority to
offer other types of supplemental environmental projects for consideration by a regulated
facility.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Community participation. new text end

new text begin The commissioner must ensure that, before
developing the specific activities that must be included in a public health supplemental
environmental project, the commissioner and any third party designated to manage the
public health supplemental environmental project meet directly with the population
potentially affected by the pollution to understand their concerns and incorporate those
concerns into the public health supplemental environmental project.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Legislative report. new text end

new text begin By January 1, 2020, and each January 1 thereafter, the
commissioner must submit a report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the senate
and house of representatives committees with primary jurisdiction over environmental policy
and finance, containing, at a minimum, the following information:
new text end

new text begin (1) for the most recent calendar year, and each of the three preceding calendar years:
new text end

new text begin (i) the number of enforcement actions taken by the agency against regulated facilities
for pollution emissions and the amount of penalties imposed and collected;
new text end

new text begin (ii) the number of offers of supplemental environmental projects the commissioner made
to regulated facilities, by project type;
new text end

new text begin (iii) the number of offers of supplemental environmental projects accepted and
implemented by regulated facilities, by project type; and
new text end

new text begin (iv) the amount of funds spent on supplemental environmental projects implemented by
regulated facilities, reported by range of expenditures and by project type;
new text end

new text begin (2) for the most recent calendar year, a summary of the activities of each supplemental
environmental project implemented; and
new text end

new text begin (3) for the most recent calendar year, for each public health supplemental environmental
project conducted, the number of persons:
new text end

new text begin (i) from whom data and samples were collected and the results of their analysis; and
new text end

new text begin (ii) who underwent medical examinations, treatment, and rehabilitation, each reported
separately.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment and
applies to facilities that enter into a settlement agreement with the Pollution Control Agency
on or after that date.
new text end