HF 1839

1st Engrossment - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to waters; modifying water use permit
provisions; amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, section
103G.271, subdivision 5.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 103G.271,
subdivision 5, is amended to read:

Subd. 5.

Prohibition on once-through water use permits.

(a) The commissioner may not, after December 31, 1990, issue a
water use permit to increase the volume of appropriation from a
groundwater source for a once-through cooling system using in
excess of 5,000,000 gallons annually.

(b) Once-through system water use permits using in excess
of 5,000,000 gallons annually, must be terminated by the
commissioner by the end of their design life but not later than
December 31, 2010, unless the discharge is into a public water
basin within a nature preserve approved by the commissioner and
established prior to January 1, 2001. Existing once-through
systems must not be expanded and are required to convert to
water efficient alternatives within the design life of existing
equipment.

new text begin (c) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b), the
commissioner, with the approval of the commissioners of health
and the Pollution Control Agency, may issue once-through system
water use permits on an annual basis for aquifer storage and
recovery systems that return all once-through system water to
the source aquifer. Water use permit processing fees in
subdivision 6, paragraph (a), apply to all water withdrawals
under this paragraph, including any reuse of water returned to
the source aquifer.
new text end