SF 2756

3rd Engrossment - 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 penalties for 
  1.3             violations of underground storage tank statutes and 
  1.4             rules; modifying provisions relating to the placement 
  1.5             of motor vehicle antifreeze in wastewater systems; 
  1.6             changing the beginning date for certain reimbursable 
  1.7             tank removal projects; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.8             1996, sections 115.071, by adding a subdivision; and 
  1.9             116.073, subdivisions 1 and 2; Minnesota Statutes 1997 
  1.10            Supplement, sections 115A.916; and 115C.09, 
  1.11            subdivision 3f. 
  1.12  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.13     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 115.071, is 
  1.14  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.15     Subd. 7.  [UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS; RED TAGS.] (a) The 
  1.16  commissioner may issue a red tag for failure to have the 
  1.17  regulated underground tank system protected from corrosion, 
  1.18  failure to have spill and overfill protection, or failure to 
  1.19  have a leak detection method in place.  A red tag may also be 
  1.20  issued for underground storage tank system violations if an 
  1.21  enforcement action, including but not limited to, a citation as 
  1.22  defined in section 116.073, subdivision 1, has been issued and 
  1.23  the violations are not corrected.  Upon discovery of a violation 
  1.24  at a facility with an underground storage tank system, the 
  1.25  commissioner shall affix a red tag, in plain view, to the fill 
  1.26  pipe cap of the tank system that provides notice that delivery 
  1.27  of petroleum products to the tank system is prohibited.  When 
  1.28  the red tag is issued, agency staff must determine the product 
  2.1   level in the tank. 
  2.2      (b) No owner or operator of a facility having an 
  2.3   underground storage tank system shall fill or allow the filling 
  2.4   of a tank with a petroleum product while a red tag is affixed to 
  2.5   the fill pipe cap of the tank system. 
  2.6      (c) A person shall not remove, deface, alter, or otherwise 
  2.7   tamper with a red tag so that the information contained on the 
  2.8   tag is not legible. 
  2.9      (d) A red tag may not be removed until the commissioner has 
  2.10  inspected the underground storage tank system and established 
  2.11  that it is no longer in violation.  After making that 
  2.12  determination, the commissioner shall remove the red tag within 
  2.13  24 hours or as soon as reasonably possible. 
  2.14     (e) The issuance of a red tag may be appealed under section 
  2.15  116.072, subdivision 6, paragraphs (a) to (e), except that the 
  2.16  person subject to the order must request a hearing within 15 
  2.17  days after issuance of a red tag and, if a hearing is not 
  2.18  requested within the 15-day period, the red tag becomes a final 
  2.19  order not subject to further review. 
  2.20     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 
  2.21  115A.916, is amended to read: 
  2.22     115A.916 [MOTOR VEHICLE FLUIDS AND FILTERS; PROHIBITIONS.] 
  2.23     (a) A person may not knowingly place motor oil, brake 
  2.24  fluid, power steering fluid, transmission fluid, motor oil 
  2.25  filters, or motor vehicle antifreeze: 
  2.26     (1) in solid waste or in a solid waste management facility 
  2.27  other than a recycling facility or a household hazardous waste 
  2.28  collection facility; 
  2.29     (2) in or on the land, unless approved by the agency; or 
  2.30     (3) in or on the waters of the state, in an individual 
  2.31  sewage treatment system as defined in section 115.55, or in a 
  2.32  stormwater or wastewater collection or treatment system except 
  2.33  as described in paragraph (c).  
  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) For businesses that purchase or use an annual average 
  3.4   of over 50 gallons of motor vehicle antifreeze per month for 
  3.5   on-site installation in motor vehicles, this section does not 
  3.6   apply to antifreeze placed in a wastewater collection system 
  3.7   that includes a publicly owned treatment works that is permitted 
  3.8   by the agency until December 31, 1997.  For businesses that 
  3.9   purchase or use an annual average of 50 gallons or less of motor 
  3.10  vehicle antifreeze per month for on-site installation in motor 
  3.11  vehicles, this section does not apply to antifreeze placed in a 
  3.12  wastewater collection system that includes a publicly owned 
  3.13  treatment works that is permitted by the agency until July 1, 
  3.14  1998. 
  3.15     (c) A person may place waste motor vehicle antifreeze in a 
  3.16  wastewater collection or treatment system permitted by the 
  3.17  agency, unless prohibited by the operator of the system, if the 
  3.18  person: 
  3.19     (1) generates an annual average of less than 50 gallons per 
  3.20  month of waste motor vehicle antifreeze; and 
  3.21     (2) keeps records of the amount of waste antifreeze 
  3.22  generated.  Records must be maintained on site and made 
  3.23  available for inspection for a minimum of three years following 
  3.24  generation of the waste antifreeze. 
  3.25     (d) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), motor oil filters and 
  3.26  portions of motor oil filters may be processed at a permitted 
  3.27  mixed municipal solid waste resource recovery facility that 
  3.28  directly burns the waste if: 
  3.29     (1) the facility is subject to an industrial waste 
  3.30  management plan that addresses management of motor oil filters 
  3.31  and the owner or operator of the facility can demonstrate to the 
  3.32  satisfaction of the commissioner that the facility is in 
  3.33  compliance with that plan; 
  3.34     (2) the facility recovers ferrous metal after incineration 
  3.35  for recycling as part of its operation; and 
  3.36     (3) the motor oil filters are collected separately from 
  4.1   mixed municipal solid waste and are not combined with it except 
  4.2   for the purpose of incinerating the waste. 
  4.3      (e) The commissioner of the pollution control agency, in 
  4.4   conjunction with the director of the office of environmental 
  4.5   assistance, industry organizations representing automotive 
  4.6   repair businesses and antifreeze recycling businesses, and 
  4.7   environmental organizations shall work together to develop and 
  4.8   promote opportunities to recycle waste motor vehicle antifreeze 
  4.9   and to review the impact of alternative antifreeze disposal or 
  4.10  recycling methods on businesses and the environment. 
  4.11     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 
  4.12  115C.09, subdivision 3f, is amended to read: 
  4.13     Subd. 3f.  [REIMBURSEMENTS; SMALL GASOLINE RETAILERS.] (a) 
  4.14  As used in this subdivision, "small gasoline retailer" means a 
  4.15  responsible person who owns no more than one location where 
  4.16  motor fuel was dispensed into motor vehicles or aircraft in the 
  4.17  previous year. 
  4.18     (b) For eligible applicants who are small gasoline 
  4.19  retailers that have dispensed less than 500,000 gallons of motor 
  4.20  fuel during the most recent calendar year that petroleum 
  4.21  products were dispensed at the location owned by the retailer, 
  4.22  the board shall reimburse the applicant for 90 percent of the 
  4.23  applicant's total reimbursable cost for tank removal projects 
  4.24  started after January 1, 1997 January 1, 1996, including, but 
  4.25  not limited to, closure in place, backfill, resurfacing, and 
  4.26  utility service restoration costs, provided that the tank 
  4.27  involved is a regulated underground storage tank. 
  4.28     (c) For eligible applicants who are small gasoline 
  4.29  retailers that have dispensed less than 250,000 gallons of motor 
  4.30  fuel during the most recent calendar year that petroleum 
  4.31  products were dispensed at the location owned by the retailer, 
  4.32  provided that the tank involved is a regulated underground 
  4.33  storage tank, the board shall reimburse the applicant for 95 
  4.34  percent of the following costs: 
  4.35     (1) tank removal costs described in paragraph (b); and 
  4.36     (2) petroleum contamination cleanup as provided under 
  5.1   subdivision 1. 
  5.2      (d) This subdivision expires January 1, 2000. 
  5.3      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 116.073, 
  5.4   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  5.5      Subdivision 1.  [AUTHORITY TO ISSUE.] Pollution control 
  5.6   agency staff designated by the commissioner and department of 
  5.7   natural resources conservation officers may issue citations to a 
  5.8   person who disposes of solid waste as defined in section 116.06, 
  5.9   subdivision 22, at a location not authorized by law for the 
  5.10  disposal of solid waste without permission of the owner of the 
  5.11  property.  In addition, pollution control agency staff 
  5.12  designated by the commissioner may issue citations to owners and 
  5.13  operators of facilities dispensing petroleum products who 
  5.14  violate sections 116.46 to 116.50 and Minnesota Rules, chapter 
  5.15  7150.  The citations may be issued only after the owners and 
  5.16  operators have had a 90-day period to correct all the violations 
  5.17  stated in a letter issued previously by pollution control agency 
  5.18  staff.  A citation issued under this subdivision must include a 
  5.19  requirement that the person cited remove and properly dispose of 
  5.20  or otherwise manage the waste or, reimburse any government 
  5.21  agency that has disposed of the waste for the reasonable costs 
  5.22  of disposal, or correct any underground storage tank violations. 
  5.23     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 116.073, 
  5.24  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  5.25     Subd. 2.  [PENALTY AMOUNT.] The citation must impose the 
  5.26  following penalty amounts: 
  5.27     (1) $100 per major appliance, as defined in section 
  5.28  115A.03, subdivision 17a, up to a maximum of $2,000; 
  5.29     (2) $25 per waste tire, as defined in section 115A.90, 
  5.30  subdivision 11, up to a maximum of $2,000; 
  5.31     (3) $25 per lead acid battery governed by section 115A.915, 
  5.32  up to a maximum of $2,000; 
  5.33     (4) $1 per pound of other solid waste or $20 per cubic foot 
  5.34  up to a maximum of $2,000; and 
  5.35     (5) up to $200 for any amount of waste that escapes from a 
  5.36  vehicle used for the transportation of solid waste if, after 
  6.1   receiving actual notice that waste has escaped the vehicle, the 
  6.2   person or company transporting the waste fails to immediately 
  6.3   collect the waste.; 
  6.4      (6) $50 per violation of rules adopted under section 
  6.5   116.49, relating to underground storage tank system design, 
  6.6   construction, installation, and notification requirements, up to 
  6.7   a maximum of $2,000; 
  6.8      (7) $250 per violation of rules adopted under section 
  6.9   116.49, relating to upgrading of existing underground storage 
  6.10  tank systems, up to a maximum of $2,000; 
  6.11     (8) $100 per violation of rules adopted under section 
  6.12  116.49, relating to underground storage tank system general 
  6.13  operating requirements, up to a maximum of $2,000; 
  6.14     (9) $250 per violation of rules adopted under section 
  6.15  116.49, relating to underground storage tank system release 
  6.16  detection requirements, up to a maximum of $2,000; 
  6.17     (10) $50 per violation of rules adopted under section 
  6.18  116.49, relating to out-of-service underground storage tank 
  6.19  systems and closure, up to a maximum of $2,000; and 
  6.20     (11) $50 per violation of sections 116.48 to 116.491 
  6.21  relating to underground storage tank system notification, 
  6.22  monitoring, environmental protection, and tank installers 
  6.23  training and certification requirements, up to a maximum of 
  6.24  $2,000. 
  6.25     Sec. 6.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  6.26     Sections 1, 4, and 5 are effective August 1, 1998, and 
  6.27  apply to violations occurring on or after that date.  Sections 2 
  6.28  and 3 are effective on the day following final enactment.