HF 3188

as introduced - 80th Legislature (1997 - 1998) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to the environment; providing for 
  1.3             environmental response at certain mixed municipal 
  1.4             solid waste facilities that are demonstrated to pose a 
  1.5             significant risk to human health and the environment; 
  1.6             amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, sections 115B.40, 
  1.7             subdivisions 1, 2, and by adding subdivisions; and 
  1.8             115B.412, subdivisions 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9; Minnesota 
  1.9             Statutes 1997 Supplement, sections 115B.39, 
  1.10            subdivision 2; and 115B.412, subdivision 5. 
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 
  1.13  115B.39, subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.14     Subd. 2.  [DEFINITIONS.] (a) In addition to the definitions 
  1.15  in this subdivision, the definitions in sections 115A.03 and 
  1.16  115B.02 apply to sections 115B.39 to 115B.445, except as 
  1.17  specifically modified in this subdivision. 
  1.18     (b) "Cleanup order" means a consent order between 
  1.19  responsible persons and the agency or an order issued by the 
  1.20  United States Environmental Protection Agency under section 106 
  1.21  of the federal Superfund Act. 
  1.22     (c) "Closure" means actions to prevent or minimize the 
  1.23  threat to public health and the environment posed by a mixed 
  1.24  municipal solid waste disposal facility that has stopped 
  1.25  accepting waste by controlling the sources of releases or 
  1.26  threatened releases at the facility.  "Closure" includes 
  1.27  removing contaminated equipment and liners; applying final 
  1.28  cover; grading and seeding final cover; installing wells, 
  2.1   borings, and other monitoring devices; constructing groundwater 
  2.2   and surface water diversion structures; and installing gas 
  2.3   control systems and site security systems, as necessary.  The 
  2.4   commissioner may authorize use of final cover that includes 
  2.5   processed materials that meet the requirements in Code of 
  2.6   Federal Regulations, title 40, section 503.32, paragraph (a). 
  2.7      (d) "Contingency action" means organized, planned, or 
  2.8   coordinated courses of action to be followed in case of fire, 
  2.9   explosion, or release of solid waste, waste by-products, or 
  2.10  leachate that could threaten human health or the environment. 
  2.11     (e) "Corrective action" means steps taken to repair 
  2.12  facility structures including liners, monitoring wells, 
  2.13  separation equipment, covers, and aeration devices and to bring 
  2.14  the facility into compliance with design, construction, 
  2.15  groundwater, surface water, and air emission standards. 
  2.16     (f) "Decomposition gases" means gases produced by chemical 
  2.17  or microbial activity during the decomposition of solid waste. 
  2.18     (g) "Eligible facility" means a mixed municipal solid waste 
  2.19  disposal facility where: 
  2.20     (1) the facility stopped accepting mixed municipal solid 
  2.21  waste by January 1, 1973; 
  2.22     (2) the facility is publicly owned on the effective date of 
  2.23  this section; and 
  2.24     (3) the owner demonstrates to the commissioner that the 
  2.25  facility poses a significant risk to human health or the 
  2.26  environment. 
  2.27     (h) "Environmental response action" means response action 
  2.28  at a qualified facility, including corrective action, closure, 
  2.29  postclosure care; contingency action; environmental studies, 
  2.30  including remedial investigations and feasibility studies; 
  2.31  engineering, including remedial design; removal; remedial 
  2.32  action; site construction; and other similar cleanup-related 
  2.33  activities.  
  2.34     (h) (i) "Environmental response costs" means: 
  2.35     (1) costs of environmental response action, not including 
  2.36  legal or administrative expenses; and 
  3.1      (2) costs required to be paid to the federal government 
  3.2   under section 107(a) of the federal Superfund Act, as amended. 
  3.3      (i) (j) "Postclosure" or "postclosure care" means actions 
  3.4   taken for the care, maintenance, and monitoring of closure 
  3.5   actions at a mixed municipal solid waste disposal facility. 
  3.6      (j) (k) "Qualified facility" means a mixed municipal solid 
  3.7   waste disposal facility, including adjacent property used for 
  3.8   solid waste disposal, that: 
  3.9      (1) is or was permitted by the agency; 
  3.10     (2) stopped accepting solid waste, except demolition 
  3.11  debris, for disposal by April 9, 1994; and 
  3.12     (3) stopped accepting demolition debris for disposal by 
  3.13  June 1, 1994, except that demolition debris may be accepted 
  3.14  until May 1, 1995, at a permitted area where disposal of 
  3.15  demolition debris is allowed, if the area where the demolition 
  3.16  debris is deposited is at least 50 feet from the fill boundary 
  3.17  of the area where mixed municipal solid waste was deposited. 
  3.18     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 115B.40, 
  3.19  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  3.20     Subdivision 1.  [RESPONSE TO RELEASES.] The commissioner 
  3.21  may take any environmental response action, including emergency 
  3.22  action, related to a release or threatened release of a 
  3.23  hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant, or decomposition 
  3.24  gas from a qualified or eligible facility that the commissioner 
  3.25  deems reasonable and necessary to protect the public health or 
  3.26  welfare or the environment under the standards required in 
  3.27  sections 115B.01 to 115B.24.  The commissioner may undertake 
  3.28  studies necessary to determine reasonable and necessary 
  3.29  environmental response actions at individual facilities.  The 
  3.30  commissioner may develop general work plans for environmental 
  3.31  studies, presumptive remedies, and generic remedial designs for 
  3.32  facilities with similar characteristics.  Prior to selecting 
  3.33  environmental response actions for a facility, the commissioner 
  3.34  shall hold at least one public informational meeting near the 
  3.35  facility and provide for receiving and responding to comments 
  3.36  related to the selection.  The commissioner shall design, 
  4.1   implement, and provide oversight consistent with the actions 
  4.2   selected under this subdivision. 
  4.3      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 115B.40, 
  4.4   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  4.5      Subd. 2.  [PRIORITY LIST.] (a) The commissioner shall 
  4.6   establish a priority list for preventing or responding to 
  4.7   releases of hazardous substances, pollutants and contaminants, 
  4.8   or decomposition gases at qualified and eligible facilities.  
  4.9   The commissioner shall periodically revise the list to reflect 
  4.10  changing conditions at facilities that affect priority for 
  4.11  response actions.  The initial priority list must be established 
  4.12  by January 1, 1995. 
  4.13     (b) The priority list required under this subdivision must 
  4.14  be based on the relative risk or danger to public health or 
  4.15  welfare or the environment, taking into account to the extent 
  4.16  possible the population at risk, the hazardous potential of the 
  4.17  hazardous substances at the facility, the potential for 
  4.18  contamination of drinking water supplies, the potential for 
  4.19  direct human contact, and the potential for destruction of 
  4.20  sensitive ecosystems. 
  4.21     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 115B.40, is 
  4.22  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  4.23     Subd. 4a.  [ELIGIBLE FACILITY NOT UNDER CLEANUP ORDER; 
  4.24  DUTIES.] (a) The owner or operator of an eligible facility that 
  4.25  is not subject to a cleanup order shall: 
  4.26     (1) provide the commissioner with a copy of all applicable 
  4.27  comprehensive general liability insurance policies and other 
  4.28  liability policies relating to property damage, certificates, or 
  4.29  other evidence of insurance coverage held during the life of the 
  4.30  facility; and 
  4.31     (2) enter into a binding agreement with the commissioner to:
  4.32     (i) take any actions necessary to preserve the owner or 
  4.33  operator's rights to payment or defense under insurance policies 
  4.34  included in clause (1), cooperate with the commissioner in 
  4.35  asserting claims under the policies, and, within 60 days of a 
  4.36  request by the commissioner, assign only those rights under the 
  5.1   policies related to environmental response costs; 
  5.2      (ii) cooperate with the commissioner or other persons 
  5.3   acting at the direction of the commissioner in taking additional 
  5.4   environmental response actions necessary to address releases or 
  5.5   threatened releases and to avoid any action that interferes with 
  5.6   environmental response actions, including allowing entry to the 
  5.7   property and to the facility's records and allowing entry and 
  5.8   installation of equipment; 
  5.9      (iii) refrain from developing or altering the use of an 
  5.10  eligible facility for purposes other than open space, unless 
  5.11  approved as a voluntary response action under section 115B.175; 
  5.12  and 
  5.13     (iv) ensure the owner will be responsible for maintenance 
  5.14  and repair of any development at the facility, including final 
  5.15  cover and vegetation. 
  5.16     (b) The agreement required in paragraph (a), clause (2), 
  5.17  must be in writing and must apply to and be binding upon the 
  5.18  successors and assigns of the owner.  The owner shall record the 
  5.19  agreement, or a memorandum approved by the commissioner that 
  5.20  summarizes the agreement, with the county recorder or registrar 
  5.21  of titles of the county where the property is located. 
  5.22     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 115B.40, is 
  5.23  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  5.24     Subd. 7a.  [NOTICE OF COMPLIANCE; EFFECTS ON ELIGIBLE 
  5.25  FACILITIES.] (a) The commissioner shall provide written notice 
  5.26  of compliance to the appropriate owner when: 
  5.27     (1) the commissioner determines that the requirements of 
  5.28  subdivision 4a have been met; and 
  5.29     (2) the person who will receive the notice has submitted to 
  5.30  the commissioner a written waiver of any claims the person may 
  5.31  have against any other person for recovery of any environmental 
  5.32  response costs related to an eligible facility that were 
  5.33  incurred prior to the date of the notice of compliance. 
  5.34     (b) Beginning on the date of the notice of compliance: 
  5.35     (1) the commissioner shall assume all obligations of the 
  5.36  owner or operator of the facility or responsible person for 
  6.1   environmental response actions under the federal Superfund Act 
  6.2   and any federal or state cleanup orders and shall undertake all 
  6.3   further action under subdivision 1 at or related to the facility 
  6.4   that the commissioner deems appropriate and in accordance with 
  6.5   the priority list; and 
  6.6      (2) the commissioner may not seek recovery against the 
  6.7   owner or operator of the facility or any responsible person of 
  6.8   any costs incurred by the commissioner for environmental 
  6.9   response action at or related to the facility, except to the 
  6.10  extent of insurance coverage held by the owner or operator or 
  6.11  responsible person. 
  6.12     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 115B.40, is 
  6.13  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  6.14     Subd. 9.  [STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS; ELIGIBLE 
  6.15  FACILITIES.] With respect to claims for recovery of 
  6.16  environmental response costs related to eligible facilities, the 
  6.17  running of all applicable periods of limitation under state law 
  6.18  is suspended until July 1, 2008. 
  6.19     Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 115B.412, 
  6.20  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  6.21     Subdivision 1.  [DUTY TO PROVIDE INFORMATION.] Any person 
  6.22  who the commissioner has reason to believe has or may obtain 
  6.23  information related to the generation, composition, 
  6.24  transportation, treatment, or disposal of waste in a 
  6.25  qualified or eligible facility or who has or may obtain 
  6.26  information related to the ownership or operation of a facility 
  6.27  shall furnish to the commissioner or the commissioner's designee 
  6.28  any information that person may have or may reasonably obtain 
  6.29  that is relevant to a release or threatened release at a 
  6.30  qualified or eligible facility. 
  6.31     Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 115B.412, 
  6.32  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  6.33     Subd. 3.  [ACQUISITION AND DISPOSITION OF REAL PROPERTY.] 
  6.34  The commissioner may acquire and dispose of real property the 
  6.35  commissioner deems reasonably necessary for environmental 
  6.36  response actions at or related to a qualified or eligible 
  7.1   facility under section 115B.17, subdivisions 15 and 16. 
  7.2      Sec. 9.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 115B.412, 
  7.3   subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  7.4      Subd. 4.  [AFFECTED REAL PROPERTY; NOTICE.] (a) The 
  7.5   commissioner shall provide to affected local government units, 
  7.6   to be available as public information, and shall make available 
  7.7   to others, on request, a description of the real property 
  7.8   described in the original and any revised permits for a 
  7.9   qualified or eligible facility, along with a description of 
  7.10  activities that will be or have been taken on the property under 
  7.11  sections 115B.39 to 115B.43 and a reasonably accurate 
  7.12  description of the types, locations, and potential movement of 
  7.13  hazardous substances, pollutants and contaminants, or 
  7.14  decomposition gases related to the facility.  The commissioner 
  7.15  shall provide and make this information available at the time 
  7.16  the facility is placed on the priority list under section 
  7.17  115B.40, subdivision 2; shall revise, provide, and make the 
  7.18  information available when response actions, other than 
  7.19  long-term maintenance actions, have been completed; and shall 
  7.20  revise the information over time if significant changes occur 
  7.21  that make the information obsolete or misleading. 
  7.22     (b) A local government unit that receives information from 
  7.23  the commissioner under paragraph (a) shall incorporate that 
  7.24  information in any land use plan that includes the affected 
  7.25  property and shall notify any person who applies for a permit 
  7.26  related to development of the affected property of the existence 
  7.27  of the information and, on request, provide a copy of the 
  7.28  information. 
  7.29     Sec. 10.  Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 
  7.30  115B.412, subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  7.31     Subd. 5.  [ENVIRONMENTAL LIEN.] An environmental lien for 
  7.32  environmental response costs incurred, including reimbursements 
  7.33  made under section 115B.43, by the commissioner under sections 
  7.34  115B.39 to 115B.445 attaches in the same manner as a lien under 
  7.35  sections 514.671 to 514.676 to all the real property described 
  7.36  in the original and any revised permits for a qualified or 
  8.1   eligible facility and any adjacent property owned by the 
  8.2   facility owner or operator from the date the first assessment, 
  8.3   closure, postclosure care, or response activities related to the 
  8.4   facility are undertaken by the commissioner.  For the purposes 
  8.5   of filing an environmental lien under this subdivision, the term 
  8.6   "cleanup action" as used in sections 514.671 to 514.676 includes 
  8.7   all of the costs incurred by the commissioner to assess, close, 
  8.8   maintain, monitor, and respond to releases at qualified or 
  8.9   eligible facilities under sections 115B.39 to 115B.445.  
  8.10  Notwithstanding section 514.672, subdivision 4, a lien under 
  8.11  this paragraph takes precedence over all other liens on the 
  8.12  property regardless of when the other liens were or are 
  8.13  perfected.  For the purpose of this subdivision, "owner or 
  8.14  operator" has the meaning given it in section 115B.41, 
  8.15  subdivision 4. 
  8.16     Sec. 11.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 115B.412, 
  8.17  subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
  8.18     Subd. 7.  [SEPARATE ACCOUNTING.] The commissioner shall 
  8.19  maintain separate accounting for each qualified or eligible 
  8.20  facility regarding: 
  8.21     (1) the amount of financial assurance funds transferred 
  8.22  under section 115B.40, subdivisions 4 and 5; and 
  8.23     (2) costs of response actions taken at the facility. 
  8.24     Sec. 12.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 115B.412, 
  8.25  subdivision 8, is amended to read: 
  8.26     Subd. 8.  [TRANSFER OF TITLE.] The owner of a qualified or 
  8.27  eligible facility may, as part of the owner's activities under 
  8.28  section 115B.40, subdivision 4 or 5, offer to transfer title to 
  8.29  all the property described in the facility's most recent permit, 
  8.30  including any property adjacent to that property the owner 
  8.31  wishes to transfer, to the commissioner.  The commissioner may 
  8.32  accept the transfer of title if the commissioner determines that 
  8.33  to do so is in the best interest of the state. 
  8.34     Sec. 13.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 115B.412, 
  8.35  subdivision 9, is amended to read: 
  8.36     Subd. 9.  [LAND MANAGEMENT PLANS.] The commissioner shall 
  9.1   develop a land use plan for each qualified or eligible 
  9.2   facility.  All local land use plans must be consistent with a 
  9.3   land use plan developed under this subdivision.  Plans developed 
  9.4   under this subdivision must include provisions to prevent any 
  9.5   use that disturbs the integrity of the final cover, liners, any 
  9.6   other components of any containment system, or the function of 
  9.7   any monitoring systems unless the commissioner finds that the 
  9.8   disturbance: 
  9.9      (1) is necessary to the proposed use of the property, and 
  9.10  will not increase the potential hazard to human health or the 
  9.11  environment; or 
  9.12     (2) is necessary to reduce a threat to human health or the 
  9.13  environment. 
  9.14     Before completing any plan under this subdivision, the 
  9.15  commissioner shall consult with the commissioner of finance 
  9.16  regarding any restrictions that the commissioner of finance 
  9.17  deems necessary on the disposition of property resulting from 
  9.18  the use of bond proceeds to pay for response actions on the 
  9.19  property, and shall incorporate the restrictions in the plan. 
  9.20     Sec. 14.  [EVALUATION OF INCLUDING ELIGIBLE FACILITIES IN 
  9.21  INSURANCE RECOVERY PROGRAM.] 
  9.22     The attorney general and the commissioner of the pollution 
  9.23  control agency shall evaluate whether eligible facilities, as 
  9.24  defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 115B.39, shall be 
  9.25  included in the insurance recovery program under Minnesota 
  9.26  Statutes, sections 115B.441 to 115B.444, and report their 
  9.27  recommendations to the appropriate committees of the legislature 
  9.28  by January 15, 1999.  In preparing this report, the attorney 
  9.29  general and commissioner shall consult with representatives of 
  9.30  insurers, insureds, and other persons identified by the attorney 
  9.31  general and commissioner as affected by the recommendations. 
  9.32     Sec. 15.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  9.33     Sections 1 to 14 are effective the day following final 
  9.34  enactment.