HF 2259

2nd Engrossment - 79th Legislature (1995 - 1996) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to the environment; modifying provisions 
  1.3             relating to the management of waste; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 115A.03, by adding a 
  1.5             subdivision; 115A.916; 115A.93, subdivision 3; 
  1.6             115A.9301, by adding a subdivision; and 115A.965, 
  1.7             subdivision 3; Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, 
  1.8             sections 115A.072, subdivision 1; 115A.965, 
  1.9             subdivision 1; and 115A.981, subdivision 3; repealing 
  1.10            Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 115A.913, subdivision 
  1.11            5. 
  1.12  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.13     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 115A.03, is 
  1.14  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.15     Subd. 32c.  [SOURCE-SEPARATED RECYCLABLE 
  1.16  MATERIALS.] "Source-separated recyclable materials" means 
  1.17  recyclable materials that are separated by the generator. 
  1.18     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section 
  1.19  115A.072, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.20     Subdivision 1.  [WASTE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION COALITION.] 
  1.21  (a) The director shall provide for the development and 
  1.22  implementation of a program of environmental education programs 
  1.23  for the general public education on waste management in 
  1.24  cooperation and coordination with the pollution control agency, 
  1.25  department of children, families, and learning, department of 
  1.26  agriculture, environmental quality board, environmental 
  1.27  education board, educational institutions, other public agencies 
  1.28  department of public service, department of natural resources, 
  2.1   board of water and soil resources, office of strategic and 
  2.2   long-range planning, educators with responsibility for waste 
  2.3   management environmental education or public education, 
  2.4   and three other persons who represent private industry and who 
  2.5   have knowledge of or expertise in recycling and solid waste 
  2.6   management issues.  The objectives of the program are to:  
  2.7   develop increased public awareness of and interest in 
  2.8   environmentally sound waste management methods;.  Programs must 
  2.9   encourage better informed environmental decisions on waste 
  2.10  management issues by business, industry, local governments, and 
  2.11  the public; and disseminate practical information about ways in 
  2.12  which households and other institutions and organizations 
  2.13  can improve the management of waste make environmentally 
  2.14  responsible decisions. 
  2.15     (b) The director shall appoint an advisory task force, to 
  2.16  be called the waste education coalition, of up to 18 members to 
  2.17  advise the director in carrying out the director's 
  2.18  responsibilities under this section and whose membership 
  2.19  represents the agencies and entities listed in this subdivision. 
  2.20  The task force expires on June 30, 1997 1999. 
  2.21     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 115A.916, is 
  2.22  amended to read: 
  2.23     115A.916 [MOTOR AND VEHICLE FLUIDS AND FILTERS; 
  2.24  PROHIBITIONS.] 
  2.25     (a) A person may not knowingly place motor oil, brake 
  2.26  fluid, power steering fluid, transmission fluid, motor oil 
  2.27  filters, or antifreeze: 
  2.28     (1) in solid waste or in a solid waste management facility 
  2.29  other than a recycling facility or a household hazardous waste 
  2.30  collection facility; 
  2.31     (2) in or on the land, unless approved by the agency; or 
  2.32     (3) in or on the waters of the state or in a stormwater or 
  2.33  wastewater collection or treatment system.  
  2.34     (b) For the purposes of this section, "antifreeze" does not 
  2.35  include small amounts of antifreeze contained in water used to 
  2.36  flush the cooling system of a vehicle after the antifreeze has 
  3.1   been drained and does not include deicer that has been used on 
  3.2   the exterior of a vehicle. 
  3.3      (c) This section does not apply to antifreeze placed in a 
  3.4   wastewater collection system that includes a publicly or 
  3.5   privately owned treatment works that is permitted by the agency 
  3.6   until December 31, 1996.  It does not apply to antifreeze placed 
  3.7   in a privately owned closed loop wastewater treatment works that 
  3.8   is permitted by the agency. 
  3.9      (d) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), motor oil filters and 
  3.10  portions of motor oil filters may be processed at a permitted 
  3.11  mixed municipal solid waste resource recovery facility that 
  3.12  directly burns the waste if: 
  3.13     (1) the facility is subject to an industrial waste 
  3.14  management plan that addresses management of motor oil filters 
  3.15  and the owner or operator of the facility can demonstrate to the 
  3.16  satisfaction of the commissioner that the facility is in 
  3.17  compliance with that plan; 
  3.18     (2) the facility recovers ferrous metal after incineration 
  3.19  for recycling as part of its operation; and 
  3.20     (3) the motor oil filters are collected separately from 
  3.21  mixed municipal solid waste and are not combined with it except 
  3.22  for the purpose of incinerating the waste. 
  3.23     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 115A.93, 
  3.24  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  3.25     Subd. 3.  [LICENSE REQUIREMENTS; PRICING BASED ON VOLUME OR 
  3.26  WEIGHT.] (a) A licensing authority shall require licensees to 
  3.27  impose charges for collection of mixed municipal solid waste 
  3.28  that increase with the volume or weight of the waste collected.  
  3.29     (b) A licensing authority may impose requirements that are 
  3.30  consistent with the county's solid waste policies as a condition 
  3.31  of receiving and maintaining a license.  
  3.32     (c) A licensing authority shall prohibit mixed municipal 
  3.33  solid waste collectors from imposing a greater charge on 
  3.34  residents who recycle than on residents who do not recycle. 
  3.35     (d) The director may exempt a licensing authority from the 
  3.36  requirements of paragraph (a) if the county within which the 
  4.1   authority is located has an approved solid waste management plan 
  4.2   that concludes that variable rate pricing is not appropriate for 
  4.3   that jurisdiction because it is inconsistent with other 
  4.4   incentives and mechanisms implemented within the jurisdiction 
  4.5   that are more effective in attaining the goals of this chapter 
  4.6   to discourage on-site disposal, littering, and illegal dumping.  
  4.7      (e) In the interim between revisions to the county solid 
  4.8   waste management plan, the director may exempt a licensing 
  4.9   authority from the requirements of paragraph (a) if the director 
  4.10  makes the determination otherwise made by the plan in paragraph 
  4.11  (d) and finds that the licensing authority: 
  4.12     (1) operates or contracts for the operation of a 
  4.13  residential recycling program that collects more categories of 
  4.14  recyclable materials than required in section 115A.552; 
  4.15     (2) has a residential participation rate in its recycling 
  4.16  programs of at least 70 percent or in excess of the 
  4.17  participation rate for the county in which it is located, 
  4.18  whichever is greater; and 
  4.19     (3) is located in a county that has exceeded the recycling 
  4.20  goals in section 115A.551. 
  4.21  An exemption granted by the director in the interim between 
  4.22  revisions to the county solid waste management plan is only 
  4.23  effective until the county solid waste management plan is 
  4.24  revised. 
  4.25     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 115A.9301, is 
  4.26  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  4.27     Subd. 4.  [EXEMPTION.] (a) The director may exempt a local 
  4.28  government unit from the requirements of subdivision 1 if the 
  4.29  county within which the local government unit is located has an 
  4.30  approved solid waste management plan that concludes that 
  4.31  variable rate pricing is not appropriate for that jurisdiction 
  4.32  because it is inconsistent with other incentives and mechanisms 
  4.33  implemented within the jurisdiction that are more effective in 
  4.34  attaining the goals of this chapter to discourage on-site 
  4.35  disposal, littering, and illegal dumping.  
  4.36     (b) In the interim between revisions to the county solid 
  5.1   waste management plan, the director may exempt a local 
  5.2   government unit from the requirements of subdivision 1 if the 
  5.3   director makes the determination otherwise made by the plan in 
  5.4   paragraph (a) and finds that the local government unit: 
  5.5      (1) operates or contracts for the operation of a 
  5.6   residential recycling program that collects more categories of 
  5.7   recyclable materials than required in section 115A.552; 
  5.8      (2) has a residential participation rate in its recycling 
  5.9   programs of at least 70 percent or in excess of the 
  5.10  participation rate for the county in which it is located, 
  5.11  whichever is greater; and 
  5.12     (3) is located in a county that has exceeded the recycling 
  5.13  goals in section 115A.551. 
  5.14  An exemption granted by the director in the interim between 
  5.15  revisions to the county solid waste management plan is only 
  5.16  effective until the county solid waste management plan is 
  5.17  revised. 
  5.18     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section 
  5.19  115A.965, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  5.20     Subdivision 1.  [PACKAGING.] (a) As soon as feasible but 
  5.21  not later than August 1, 1993, no manufacturer or distributor 
  5.22  may sell or offer for sale or for promotional purposes in this 
  5.23  state packaging or a product that is contained in packaging if 
  5.24  the packaging itself, or any inks, dyes, pigments, adhesives, 
  5.25  stabilizers, or any other additives to the packaging contain any 
  5.26  lead, cadmium, mercury, or hexavalent chromium that has been 
  5.27  intentionally introduced as an element during manufacture or 
  5.28  distribution of the packaging.  Intentional introduction does 
  5.29  not include the incidental presence of any of the prohibited 
  5.30  elements. 
  5.31     (b) For the purposes of this section: 
  5.32     (1) "distributor" means a person who imports packaging or 
  5.33  causes packaging to be imported into the state; it does not 
  5.34  include a person involved solely in delivering packages on 
  5.35  behalf of a third party; and 
  5.36     (2) until August 15, 1996, "packaging" does not include 
  6.1   steel strapping containing a total concentration level of lead, 
  6.2   cadmium, mercury, and hexavalent chromium, added together, of 
  6.3   less than 100 parts per million by weight. "intentional 
  6.4   introduction" means the act of deliberately using a regulated 
  6.5   metal in the formulation of a package where its continued 
  6.6   presence is desired in the final package to provide a specific 
  6.7   characteristic, appearance, or quality.  It does not include: 
  6.8      (i) the use of a regulated metal as a processing agent or 
  6.9   intermediate to impart certain chemical or physical changes 
  6.10  during manufacturing, where the incidental retention of a 
  6.11  residue of the metal in the final package is neither desired nor 
  6.12  deliberate if the final package is in compliance with 
  6.13  subdivision 2; 
  6.14     (ii) the use of recycled materials as feedstock for the 
  6.15  manufacture of new packaging materials, where some portion of 
  6.16  the recycled materials may contain amounts of a regulated metal 
  6.17  if the new package is in compliance with subdivision 2; or 
  6.18     (iii) the incidental presence of any of the regulated 
  6.19  metals.  
  6.20     Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 115A.965, 
  6.21  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  6.22     Subd. 3.  [EXEMPTIONS.] (a) Until January 1, 2000, the 
  6.23  following packaging is exempt from the requirements of 
  6.24  subdivisions 1 and 2: 
  6.25     (1) packaging that has been delivered to a manufacturer or 
  6.26  distributor prior to August 1, 1993, or packaging that contains 
  6.27  a code or other indication of the date of manufacture and that 
  6.28  was manufactured prior to August 1, 1993; and 
  6.29     (2) until August 1, 1997, packaging that would not exceed 
  6.30  the total toxics concentration levels under subdivision 2 but 
  6.31  for the addition in the packaging of materials that have 
  6.32  fulfilled their intended use and have been discarded by 
  6.33  consumers.; and 
  6.34     (2) packages that are reused but exceed the total toxics 
  6.35  concentration levels in subdivision 2, provided that:  
  6.36     (i) the product being conveyed by the package is regulated 
  7.1   under federal or state health or safety requirements; 
  7.2      (ii) transportation of the packaged product is regulated 
  7.3   under federal or state transportation requirements; and 
  7.4      (iii) disposal of the package is performed according to 
  7.5   federal or state radioactive or hazardous waste disposal 
  7.6   requirements. 
  7.7      (b) Until January 1, 2000, packages that have a controlled 
  7.8   distribution and reuse, but exceed the total toxics 
  7.9   concentration levels in subdivision 2 and do not meet the 
  7.10  requirements of paragraph (a), may be exempted from subdivisions 
  7.11  1 and 2 if the manufacturers or distributors of the packages 
  7.12  petition for and receive approval from the commissioner.  In 
  7.13  granting approval, the commissioner shall work with the 
  7.14  Coalition of Northeastern Governors Toxics in Packaging 
  7.15  Clearinghouse and base the decision on satisfactory 
  7.16  demonstrations that the environmental benefit of the controlled 
  7.17  distribution and reuse is significantly greater compared to the 
  7.18  same package manufactured in compliance with the total toxics 
  7.19  concentration levels in subdivision 2, and on plans proposed by 
  7.20  the manufacturer that include each of the following elements: 
  7.21     (1) a means of identifying the packaging in a permanent and 
  7.22  visible manner; 
  7.23     (2) a method of regulatory and financial accountability so 
  7.24  that a specified percentage of the packaging manufactured and 
  7.25  distributed to other persons is not discarded by those persons 
  7.26  after use but are returned to the manufacturer or the 
  7.27  manufacturer's designee; 
  7.28     (3) a system of inventory and record maintenance to account 
  7.29  for the packaging placed in, and removed from, service; 
  7.30     (4) a means of transforming packaging that is no longer 
  7.31  reusable into recycled materials for manufacturing or into 
  7.32  manufacturing wastes which are subject to existing federal or 
  7.33  state laws or regulations governing such manufacturing wastes 
  7.34  that ensure that these wastes do not enter the industrial or 
  7.35  mixed municipal solid waste stream; and 
  7.36     (5) a system of annually reporting to the commissioner 
  8.1   changes to the system and changes in designees. 
  8.2      (b) (c) Packaging to which lead, cadmium, mercury, or 
  8.3   hexavalent chromium has been intentionally introduced in the 
  8.4   manufacturing process may be exempted from the requirements of 
  8.5   subdivisions 1 and 2 by the commissioner of the pollution 
  8.6   control agency if: 
  8.7      (1) the use of the toxic element in the packaging is 
  8.8   required by federal or state health or safety laws; or 
  8.9      (2) there is no feasible alternative for the packaging 
  8.10  because the toxic element used is essential to the protection, 
  8.11  safe handling, or function of the contents of the package.  
  8.12     The commissioner may grant an exemption under this 
  8.13  paragraph for a period not to exceed two years upon application 
  8.14  by the packaging manufacturer that includes documentation 
  8.15  showing that the criteria for an exemption are met.  Exemptions 
  8.16  granted by the commissioner may be renewed upon reapplication 
  8.17  every two years. 
  8.18     Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section 
  8.19  115A.981, subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  8.20     Subd. 3.  [REPORT.] (a) The commissioner shall report to 
  8.21  the legislative commission on waste management senate and house 
  8.22  of representatives environment and natural resource committees, 
  8.23  the finance division of the senate committee on environment and 
  8.24  natural resources, and the house of representatives committee on 
  8.25  environment and natural resources finance by July December 1 of 
  8.26  each odd-numbered year on the economic status and outlook of the 
  8.27  state's solid waste management sector including an estimate of 
  8.28  the extent to which prices for solid waste management paid by 
  8.29  consumers reflect costs related to environmental and public 
  8.30  health protection, including a discussion of how prices are 
  8.31  publicly and privately subsidized and how identified costs of 
  8.32  waste management are not reflected in the prices.  
  8.33     (b) In preparing the report, the commissioner shall: 
  8.34     (1) consult with the director; local government units; 
  8.35  solid waste collectors, transporters, and processors; owners and 
  8.36  operators of solid waste facilities; and other interested 
  9.1   persons; 
  9.2      (2) consider and analyze information received under 
  9.3   subdivision 2 and information available under section 115A.929; 
  9.4   and 
  9.5      (3) analyze information gathered and comments received 
  9.6   relating to the most recent solid waste management policy report 
  9.7   prepared under section 115A.411. 
  9.8      The commissioner shall also recommend any legislation 
  9.9   necessary to ensure adequate and reliable information needed for 
  9.10  preparation of the report. 
  9.11     (c) The report must also include: 
  9.12     (1) statewide and facility by facility estimates of the 
  9.13  total potential costs and liabilities associated with solid 
  9.14  waste disposal facilities for closure and postclosure care, 
  9.15  response costs under chapter 115B, and any other potential 
  9.16  costs, liabilities, or financial responsibilities; 
  9.17     (2) statewide and facility by facility requirements for 
  9.18  proof of financial responsibility under section 116.07, 
  9.19  subdivision 4h, and how each facility is meeting those 
  9.20  requirements. 
  9.21     Sec. 9.  [REVISOR'S INSTRUCTION.] 
  9.22     The revisor shall change provisions in Minnesota Statutes 
  9.23  that direct reports to the legislative commission on waste 
  9.24  management so that the reports are received by the environment 
  9.25  and natural resources committees of the senate and house of 
  9.26  representatives, the finance division of the senate committee on 
  9.27  environment and natural resources, and the house of 
  9.28  representatives committee on environment and natural resources 
  9.29  finance. 
  9.30     Sec. 10.  [REPEALER.] 
  9.31     Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 115A.913, subdivision 5, 
  9.32  is repealed. 
  9.33     Sec. 11.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  9.34     Section 3 is effective the day following final enactment.