HF 4117

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to the environment; authorizing a state and 
  1.3             county environmental partnership program for 
  1.4             individual sewage treatment system improvement and 
  1.5             replacement; appropriating money.  
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [ENVIRONMENTAL PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.] 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR ISTS.] With the 
  1.9   money appropriated in section 2, the counties of Clay, 
  1.10  Faribault, Martin, and Waseca may each establish a pilot program 
  1.11  to create an environmental partnership trust fund.  Until July 
  1.12  1, 2006, a participating county may use up to 50 percent of the 
  1.13  earnings from the trust fund to provide financial assistance to 
  1.14  property owners for site evaluation, design, installation, 
  1.15  repair, or replacement of individual sewage treatment systems.  
  1.16  The financial assistance may be in the form of grants or loans 
  1.17  in amounts up to $2,500 or 50 percent of the cost, whichever is 
  1.18  less.  
  1.19     Subd. 2.  [DEFINITIONS.] The definitions in Minnesota 
  1.20  Statutes, sections 115.55 and 115.57, apply to this section. 
  1.21     Subd. 3.  [LIMITATIONS.] Financial assistance may not be 
  1.22  used to increase the capacity of an individual sewage treatment 
  1.23  system beyond what is reasonably required to serve existing 
  1.24  buildings and lots in existing recorded plats. 
  1.25     Subd. 4.  [ASSESSMENTS.] (a) An amount loaned under this 
  2.1   section, including accruing interest, must be a lien against the 
  2.2   real property for which the improvement was made and must be 
  2.3   assessed against the property or properties benefited unless the 
  2.4   amount is prepaid.  An amount loaned under this section and 
  2.5   assessed against the property must be a priority lien only 
  2.6   against subsequent liens. 
  2.7      (b) Upon issuing a loan, the county shall provide the 
  2.8   property owner a notice that states the following information:  
  2.9      (1) the amount to be specially assessed against the 
  2.10  property; 
  2.11     (2) the right of the property owner to prepay the entire 
  2.12  assessment; 
  2.13     (3) the public official to whom prepayment must be made; 
  2.14     (4) the time within which prepayment must be made without 
  2.15  the assessment of interest; 
  2.16     (5) the rate of interest to be accrued if the assessment is 
  2.17  not prepaid within the required time period; and 
  2.18     (6) the period of the assessment. 
  2.19     (c) A county participating in the program shall, by 
  2.20  ordinance, provide for a right of property owners to prepay the 
  2.21  assessment and may establish other assessment procedures it 
  2.22  determines necessary and consistent with the provisions of this 
  2.23  section. 
  2.24     Subd. 5.  [CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS.] All repairs and 
  2.25  improvements made to individual sewage treatment systems under 
  2.26  this section shall be performed by a licensed individual sewage 
  2.27  treatment system professional and shall comply with Minnesota 
  2.28  Statutes, section 115.55, and other applicable requirements. 
  2.29     Subd. 6.  [OTHER PROGRAMS.] After July 1, 2006, a county 
  2.30  may use remaining earnings from the trust fund for other 
  2.31  environmental purposes defined by the county. 
  2.32     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  2.33     $4,000,000 is appropriated for fiscal year 2001 from the 
  2.34  general fund to the pollution control agency.  The agency shall 
  2.35  use the appropriation to make grants of $1,000,000 to each 
  2.36  county specified in section 1 contingent on the county 
  3.1   establishing the pilot program described in section 1.