HF 2228

as introduced - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to the environment; providing grants to 
  1.3             municipalities for wastewater treatment projects 
  1.4             needed to meet total maximum daily load plan 
  1.5             requirements; authorizing sale of state bonds; 
  1.6             appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, 
  1.7             section 116.182, subdivision 2; proposing coding for 
  1.8             new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 446A. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 116.182, 
  1.11  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.12     Subd. 2.  [APPLICABILITY.] This section governs the 
  1.13  commissioner's certification of projects seeking financial 
  1.14  assistance under section 103F.725, subdivision 1a,; 446A.07, or; 
  1.15  446A.072; or 446A.073. 
  1.16     Sec. 2.  [446A.073] [TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD GRANTS.] 
  1.17     Subdivision 1.  [PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.] The authority must 
  1.18  make grants to municipalities to cover one-half the cost of 
  1.19  wastewater treatment projects made necessary by wasteload 
  1.20  reductions under total maximum daily load plans required by 
  1.21  section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act, United States 
  1.22  Code, title 33, section 1313(d). 
  1.23     Subd. 2.  [GRANT APPLICATION.] Application for a grant must 
  1.24  be made to the authority on forms prescribed by the authority 
  1.25  for the total maximum daily load grant program, with additional 
  1.26  information as required by the authority.  In accordance with 
  1.27  section 116.182, the Pollution Control Agency shall: 
  2.1      (1) calculate the essential project component percentage 
  2.2   which must be multiplied by the total project cost to determine 
  2.3   the eligible project cost; and 
  2.4      (2) review and certify approved projects to the authority. 
  2.5      Subd. 3.  [PROJECT PRIORITIES.] When money is appropriated 
  2.6   for grants under this program, the authority shall reserve money 
  2.7   for projects in the order that their total maximum daily load 
  2.8   plan was approved by the United States Environmental Protection 
  2.9   Agency and in an amount based on their most recent cost 
  2.10  estimates submitted to the authority or the as-bid costs, 
  2.11  whichever is less. 
  2.12     Subd. 4.  [GRANT APPROVAL.] The authority must make a grant 
  2.13  to a municipality, as defined in section 116.182, subdivision 1, 
  2.14  only after: 
  2.15     (1) the commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control 
  2.16  Agency has certified to the United States Environmental 
  2.17  Protection Agency a total maximum daily load plan for identified 
  2.18  waters of this state that includes a point source wasteload 
  2.19  allocation; 
  2.20     (2) the Environmental Protection Agency has approved the 
  2.21  plan; 
  2.22     (3) a municipality affected by the plan has estimated the 
  2.23  cost to it of wastewater treatment projects necessary to comply 
  2.24  with the point source wasteload allocation; 
  2.25     (4) the Pollution Control Agency has approved the cost 
  2.26  estimate; and 
  2.27     (5) the authority has determined that the additional 
  2.28  financing necessary to complete the project has been committed 
  2.29  from other sources. 
  2.30     Subd. 5.  [GRANT DISBURSEMENT.] Disbursement of a grant 
  2.31  must be made for eligible project costs as incurred by the 
  2.32  municipality and in accordance with a project financing 
  2.33  agreement and applicable state and federal laws and rules 
  2.34  governing the payments. 
  2.35     Sec. 3.  [APPROPRIATION; BOND AUTHORIZATION.] 
  2.36     Subdivision 1.  [APPROPRIATION.] $25,000,000 is 
  3.1   appropriated from the bond proceeds fund to the Minnesota Public 
  3.2   Facilities Authority to make grants under section 2. 
  3.3      Subd. 2.  [BOND SALE.] To provide the money appropriated in 
  3.4   this section from the bond proceeds fund, the commissioner of 
  3.5   finance shall sell and issue bonds of the state in an amount up 
  3.6   to $25,000,000 in the manner, upon the terms, and with the 
  3.7   effect prescribed by Minnesota Statutes, sections 16A.631 to 
  3.8   16A.675, and by the Minnesota Constitution, article XI, sections 
  3.9   4 to 7.  Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 16A.642, 
  3.10  this bond sale authorization and appropriation do not expire. 
  3.11     Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.12     This act is effective the day following final enactment.