HF 1

2nd Engrossment - 87th Legislature (2011 - 2012) Posted on 01/27/2011 03:05pm

A bill for an act
relating to environment; providing for permitting efficiency; modifying
environmental review requirements; amending Minnesota Statutes 2010, sections
13.7411, by adding a subdivision; 84.027, by adding a subdivision; 115.07;
116.03, by adding a subdivision; 116.07, subdivision 2; 116D.04, subdivisions
3a, 10, by adding a subdivision; 116D.045, subdivisions 1, 3.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 13.7411, is amended by adding a
subdivision to read:

Subd. 10.

Draft environmental impact statement.

Certain data collected by a
project proposer for a draft environmental impact statement are classified under section
116D.04.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 84.027, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

Subd. 14a.

Permitting efficiency.

(a) It is the goal of the state that environmental
and resource management permits be issued or denied within 150 days of the submission
of a completed permit application. The commissioner of natural resources shall establish
management systems designed to achieve the goal.

(b) The commissioner 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 applications that have not met the goal, the report must
state the reasons for not meeting the goal, steps that will be taken to complete action on
the application, and the expected timeline. In stating the reasons for not meeting the
goal, the commissioner 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 of determination that the application is complete. The report due
on August 1 must aggregate the data for the preceding fiscal year and assess whether
program or system changes are necessary to achieve the goal. The report must be posted
on the department's Web site and submitted to the governor and the chairs of the house
of representatives and senate committees having jurisdiction over natural resources
policy and finance.

(c) The commissioner shall allow electronic submission of environmental review
and permit documents to the department.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 115.07, is amended to read:

115.07 VIOLATIONS AND PROHIBITIONS.

Subdivision 1.

Obtain permit.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), it shall be
is unlawful for any person to construct, install, or operate a disposal system, or any part
thereof, until plans therefor shall and specifications for the disposal system have been
submitted to the agency, unless the agency shall have waived the waives submission
thereof to it of the plans and specifications and a written permit therefor shall have been
for the disposal system is granted by the agency.

(b) If a person who discharges a pollutant into the waters of the state is required by
statute or rule to obtain a national pollutant discharge elimination system permit or a state
disposal system permit, the person may construct or install, prior to issuance of the permit,
at the person's own risk, a disposal system or any part thereof, unless the action taken is:

(1) prohibited by federal law or regulation;

(2) by a municipality constructing a wastewater system with a design capacity of 0.2
million gallons per day or less;

(3) subject to environmental review under Minnesota Rules, chapter 4410, and
prohibited from commencing construction until that process is completed;

(4) receiving funding under Minnesota Rules, chapter 7077;

(5) required to obtain a construction storm water permit under Minnesota Rules,
part 7090.2010; or

(6) required to be permitted as a subsurface sewage treatment system under
Minnesota Rules, part 7081.0040, subpart 1, item B or C.

The person is prohibited from operating such a system or discharging pollutants into
the waters of the state until a written permit for the discharge is granted by the agency
and until plans and specifications for the disposal system have been approved, unless the
agency waives the submission of plans and specifications.

(c) For disposal systems operated on streams with extreme seasonal flows, the
agency must allow seasonal permit limits based on a fixed or variable effluent limit when
the municipality operating the disposal system requests them and is in compliance with
agency water quality standards.

Subd. 3.

Permission for extension.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), it
shall be is unlawful for any person to make any change in, addition to, or extension of any
existing disposal system or point source, or part thereof, to effect any facility expansion,
production increase, or process modification which results in new or increased discharges
of pollutants, or to operate such system or point source, or part thereof as so changed,
added to, or extended until plans and specifications therefor shall have been submitted to
the agency, unless the agency shall have waived the waives submission thereof to it of
the plans and specifications and a written permit therefor shall have been for the change,
addition, or extension is granted by the agency.

(b) If a person who discharges a pollutant into the waters of the state is required by
statute or rule to obtain a national pollutant discharge elimination system permit or a state
disposal system permit, the person may, prior to issuance of the permit, at the person's
own risk, act to change, add to, or extend an existing disposal system or point source,
or part thereof, unless the action taken is:

(1) prohibited by federal law or regulation;

(2) by a municipality constructing a wastewater system with a design capacity of 0.2
million gallons per day or less;

(3) subject to environmental review under Minnesota Rules, chapter 4410, and
prohibited from commencing construction until that process is completed;

(4) receiving funding under Minnesota Rules, chapter 7077;

(5) required to obtain a construction storm water permit under Minnesota Rules,
part 7090.2010; or

(6) required to be permitted as a subsurface sewage treatment system under
Minnesota Rules, part 7081.0040, subpart 1, item B or C.

The person is prohibited from operating such a change, addition, or extension to
an existing disposal system or discharging pollutants into the waters of the state until a
written permit for the additional or increased discharge is granted by the agency and until
plans and specifications for the disposal system have been approved, unless the agency
waives the submission of plans and specifications.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 116.03, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

Subd. 2b.

Permitting efficiency.

(a) It is the goal of the state that environmental
and resource management permits be issued or denied within 150 days of the submission
of a completed permit application. The commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency
shall establish management systems designed to achieve the goal.

(b) The commissioner 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 applications that have not met the goal, the report must
state the reasons for not meeting the goal, steps that will be taken to complete action on
the application, and the expected timeline. In stating the reasons for not meeting the
goal, the commissioner 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 of determination that the application is complete. The report due
on August 1 must aggregate the data for the preceding fiscal year and assess whether
program or system changes are necessary to achieve the goal. The report must be posted
on the agency's Web site and submitted to the governor and the chairs of the house of
representatives and senate committees having jurisdiction over environment policy and
finance.

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

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 116.07, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Adoption of standards.

(a) The Pollution Control Agency shall improve
air quality by promoting, in the most practicable way possible, the use of energy sources
and waste disposal methods which produce or emit the least air contaminants consistent
with the agency's overall goal of reducing all forms of pollution. The agency shall also
adopt standards of air quality, including maximum allowable standards of emission of air
contaminants from motor vehicles, recognizing that due to variable factors, no single
standard of purity of air is applicable to all areas of the state. In adopting standards the
Pollution Control Agency shall give due recognition to the fact that the quantity or
characteristics of air contaminants or the duration of their presence in the atmosphere,
which may cause air pollution in one area of the state, may cause less or not cause any air
pollution in another area of the state, and it shall take into consideration in this connection
such factors, including others which it may deem proper, as existing physical conditions,
zoning classifications, topography, prevailing wind directions and velocities, and the fact
that a standard of air quality which may be proper as to an essentially residential area of
the state, may not be proper as to a highly developed industrial area of the state. Such
standards of air quality shall be premised upon scientific knowledge of causes as well as
effects based on technically substantiated criteria and commonly accepted practices. No
local government unit shall set standards of air quality which are more stringent than
those set by the Pollution Control Agency.

(b) The Pollution Control Agency shall promote solid waste disposal control
by encouraging the updating of collection systems, elimination of open dumps, and
improvements in incinerator practices. The agency shall also adopt standards for the
control of the collection, transportation, storage, processing, and disposal of solid waste
and sewage sludge for the prevention and abatement of water, air, and land pollution,
recognizing that due to variable factors, no single standard of control is applicable to
all areas of the state. In adopting standards, the Pollution Control Agency shall give
due recognition to the fact that elements of control which may be reasonable and proper
in densely populated areas of the state may be unreasonable and improper in sparsely
populated or remote areas of the state, and it shall take into consideration in this connection
such factors, including others which it may deem proper, as existing physical conditions,
topography, soils and geology, climate, transportation, and land use. Such standards of
control shall be premised on technical criteria and commonly accepted practices.

(c) The Pollution Control Agency shall also adopt standards describing the
maximum levels of noise in terms of sound pressure level which may occur in the outdoor
atmosphere, recognizing that due to variable factors no single standard of sound pressure
is applicable to all areas of the state. Such standards shall give due consideration to
such factors as the intensity of noises, the types of noises, the frequency with which
noises recur, the time period for which noises continue, the times of day during which
noises occur, and such other factors as could affect the extent to which noises may be
injurious to human health or welfare, animal or plant life, or property, or could interfere
unreasonably with the enjoyment of life or property. In adopting standards, the Pollution
Control Agency shall give due recognition to the fact that the quantity or characteristics
of noise or the duration of its presence in the outdoor atmosphere, which may cause
noise pollution in one area of the state, may cause less or not cause any noise pollution
in another area of the state, and it shall take into consideration in this connection such
factors, including others which it may deem proper, as existing physical conditions,
zoning classifications, topography, meteorological conditions and the fact that a standard
which may be proper in an essentially residential area of the state, may not be proper as to
a highly developed industrial area of the state. Such noise standards shall be premised
upon scientific knowledge as well as effects based on technically substantiated criteria
and commonly accepted practices. No local governing unit shall set standards describing
the maximum levels of sound pressure which are more stringent than those set by the
Pollution Control Agency.

(d) The Pollution Control Agency shall adopt standards for the identification of
hazardous waste and for the management, identification, labeling, classification, storage,
collection, transportation, processing, and disposal of hazardous waste, recognizing
that due to variable factors, a single standard of hazardous waste control may not be
applicable to all areas of the state. In adopting standards, the Pollution Control Agency
shall recognize that elements of control which may be reasonable and proper in densely
populated areas of the state may be unreasonable and improper in sparsely populated
or remote areas of the state. The agency shall consider existing physical conditions,
topography, soils, and geology, climate, transportation and land use. Standards of
hazardous waste control shall be premised on technical knowledge, and commonly
accepted practices. Hazardous waste generator licenses may be issued for a term not to
exceed five years. No local government unit shall set standards of hazardous waste control
which are in conflict or inconsistent with those set by the Pollution Control Agency.

(e) A person who generates less than 100 kilograms of hazardous waste per month is
exempt from the following agency hazardous waste rules:

(1) rules relating to transportation, manifesting, storage, and labeling for
photographic fixer and x-ray negative wastes that are hazardous solely because of silver
content; and

(2) any rule requiring the generator to send to the agency or commissioner a copy
of each manifest for the transportation of hazardous waste for off-site treatment, storage,
or disposal, except that counties within the metropolitan area may require generators to
provide manifests.

Nothing in this paragraph exempts the generator from the agency's rules relating to on-site
accumulation or outdoor storage. A political subdivision or other local unit of government
may not adopt management requirements that are more restrictive than this paragraph.

(f) In any rulemaking proceeding under chapter 14 to adopt standards for air quality,
solid waste, or hazardous waste under this chapter, or standards for water quality under
chapter 115, that are more stringent than any similar federal standard adopted under
the Clean Air Act, United States Code, title 42, section 7412(b)(2); the Clean Water
Act, United States Code, title 33, sections 1312(a) and 1313(c)(4); or the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act, United States Code, title 42, section 6921(b)(1), the
statement of need and reasonableness must include documentation that the federal
standard does not provide adequate protection for public health and the environment and
a comparison of the proposed standard with standards in border states and states within
Environmental Protection Agency Region 5.

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 116D.04, subdivision 3a, is amended to read:

Subd. 3a.

Final decisions.

Within 90 30 days after final approval of an
environmental impact statement, final decisions shall be made by the appropriate
governmental units on those permits which were identified as required and for which
information was developed concurrently with the preparation of the environmental impact
statement, except that, for a permit request subject to section 15.99, a final decision
must be made within 60 days after final approval of an environmental impact statement.
Provided, however, that the 90-day 30-day period may be extended where a longer period
is required by federal law or state statute or is consented to by the permit applicant. The
permit decision shall include the reasons for the decision, including any conditions under
which the permit is issued, together with a final order granting or denying the permit.

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 116D.04, subdivision 10, is amended to read:

Subd. 10.

Review.

Decisions on the need for an environmental assessment
worksheet, the need for an environmental impact statement, and the adequacy of an
environmental impact statement may be reviewed by a declaratory judgment action in
the district court of the county wherein the proposed action, or any part thereof, would be
undertaken the Court of Appeals. The filing of a writ of certiorari shall not automatically
stay further action by the responsible governmental unit, but the Court of Appeals may
order a stay upon such terms as it deems proper. Judicial review under this section shall be
initiated within 30 days after the governmental unit makes the decision, and a bond may be
required under section 562.02 unless at the time of hearing on the application for the bond
the plaintiff petitioner has shown that the claim has sufficient possibility of success on
the merits to sustain the burden required for the issuance of a temporary restraining order
stay. Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter the requirements for a temporary
restraining order or a preliminary injunction pursuant to the Minnesota Rules of Civil
Procedure for district courts. The board may initiate judicial review of decisions referred
to herein and may intervene as of right in any proceeding brought under this subdivision.

Sec. 8.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 116D.04, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

Subd. 15.

Data classification.

Data collected, created, received, maintained, or
disseminated by the proposer of a specific project for support of a draft environmental
impact statement under this section shall be deemed government data as defined in section
13.02, subdivision 7.

Sec. 9.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 116D.045, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Assessment.

The board shall by rule adopt procedures to authorize
the proposer of a specific action to prepare a draft environmental impact statement of that
action required pursuant to section 116D.04 for submission to and review, modification,
and determination of completeness and adequacy by the responsible governmental unit or
assess the proposer of a specific action for reasonable costs of preparing, reviewing, and
distributing an the environmental impact statement on that action required pursuant to
section 116D.04. Such costs shall be determined by the responsible governmental unit
pursuant to the rules promulgated by the board.

Sec. 10.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 116D.045, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Use of assessment.

As necessary, the responsible governmental unit shall
assess the project proposer for reasonable costs that the responsible governmental unit
incurs in preparing, reviewing, and distributing the environmental impact statement and
the proposer shall pay the assessed cost to the responsible governmental unit. Money
received under this subdivision by a responsible governmental unit may be retained by the
unit for the same purposes. Money received by a state agency must be credited to a special
account and is appropriated to the agency to cover the assessed costs incurred.

Sec. 11. RULE AMENDMENT.

The commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency shall amend Minnesota Rules,
part 7001.0030, to comply with the amendments made under section 3. The commissioner
may use the good cause exemption under Minnesota Statutes, section 14.388, subdivision
1, clause (3), to adopt the amendment under this section, and Minnesota Statutes, section
14.386, does not apply except as provided under Minnesota Statutes, section 14.388.