HF 21

as introduced - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 01/08/2015 12:11pm

A bill for an act
relating to energy; establishing a goal for pipeline permitting efficiency; requiring
a report; amending Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 216G.02, by adding a
subdivision.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 216G.02, is amended by adding a
subdivision to read:

Subd. 5.

Permitting efficiency.

(a) It is the goal of the state that pipeline routing
permits be issued or denied within 150 days of the submission of a permit application.
The Public Utilities Commission shall establish management systems designed to achieve
the goal.

(b) The Public Utilities Commission shall prepare semiannual permitting efficiency
reports that include statistics on meeting the goal in paragraph (a). The reports are due
February 1 and August 1 each year. For permit application review processes that did
not meet the goal, the report must state the reasons for not meeting the goal. In stating
the reasons for not meeting the goal, the Public Utilities Commission shall separately
identify delays caused by the responsiveness of the proposer, lack of staff, scientific or
technical disagreements, or the level of public engagement. The report must specify the
number of days from initial submission of the application to the day the application is
deemed complete. The report for August 1 each year must aggregate the data for the year
and assess whether program or system changes are necessary to achieve the goal. The
report must be posted on the Public Utilities Commission's Web site and submitted to the
governor and the chairs and ranking minority members of the house of representatives and
senate committees having jurisdiction over energy policy and finance.

(c) The Public Utilities Commission shall allow electronic submission of
environmental review and permit documents to the agency.

(d) Beginning July 1, 2016, within 30 business days of application for a permit
subject to paragraph (a), the Public Utilities Commission shall notify the project proposer,
in writing, whether the application is complete or incomplete. If the commissioner
determines that an application is incomplete, the notice to the applicant must identify all
deficiencies, citing specific provisions of the applicable rules and statutes, and advise the
applicant on how the deficiencies can be remedied. This paragraph does not apply to an
application for a permit that is subject to a grant or loan agreement under chapter 446A.

Sec. 2. PERMITTING PROCESS REVIEW.

(a) The Public Utilities Commission must evaluate its pipeline routing permitting
processes under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 216G, to determine whether existing
processes cause, encourage, or reduce unnecessary delays in the pipeline permitting
process. To the extent the Public Utilities Commission identifies any processes that are
repetitive, duplicative, unnecessary, or cause burden or delay, the commission shall either:
(1) alter or eliminate the process; or (2) provide justification detailing the reasons why
a process that causes delay is necessary.

(b) The Public Utilities Commission shall report its findings under paragraph (a) to
the governor and the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees
with jurisdiction over energy policy and finance. The report shall describe in detail all of
the processes reviewed, an explanation as to whether or why each process is necessary
or should be altered or eliminated, and include any action taken by the commission to
streamline any processes identified for alteration or elimination. The report under this
section shall be included with the August 1, 2016, submission of the report required under
Minnesota Statutes, section 216G.02, subdivision 5, paragraph (b).

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective the day following final enactment.