SF 2901

as introduced - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 02/15/2024 03:10pm

A bill for an act
relating to environment; establishing zero-waste grant program; appropriating
money; requiring reports; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 115A.

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

Section 1.

new text begin [115A.566] ZERO-WASTE GRANT PROGRAM.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin (a) For purposes of this section and notwithstanding section
115A.03, the terms in this subdivision have the meanings given.
new text end

new text begin (b) "Compost" means a product that:
new text end

new text begin (1) is manufactured through the controlled aerobic, biological decomposition of
biodegradable materials; and
new text end

new text begin (2) has undergone mesophilic and thermophilic temperatures, which significantly reduces
the viability of pathogens and weed seeds and stabilizes the carbon such that it is beneficial
to plant growth.
new text end

new text begin (c) "Composting" means the controlled microbial degradation of organic waste to yield
a humus-like product.
new text end

new text begin (d) "Eligible entity" means:
new text end

new text begin (1) a small business;
new text end

new text begin (2) a nonprofit organization; or
new text end

new text begin (3) a unit of government.
new text end

new text begin (e) "Embodied energy" means energy that was used to create a product or material.
new text end

new text begin (f) "Environmental justice area" means an area in the state that, based on the most recent
data published by the United States Census Bureau, meets one or more of the following
criteria:
new text end

new text begin (1) 50 percent or more of the area's total population is nonwhite;
new text end

new text begin (2) 40 percent or more of households in the area have an income that is at or below 185
percent of the federal poverty level; or
new text end

new text begin (3) the area is located in Indian Country, as defined in United States Code, title 18,
section 1151.
new text end

new text begin (g) "Life-cycle emissions" means the environmental impacts of products, processes, or
services through production, usage, and disposal.
new text end

new text begin (h) "Living wage" means the minimum income necessary to allow a person working 40
hours per week to afford the cost of housing, food, and other material necessities.
new text end

new text begin (i) "Nonprofit organization" means an organization whose purpose and activities serve
the organization's mission to benefit the public and that is not operated to profit other persons
or entities.
new text end

new text begin (j) "Recycled" means a material that has undergone recycling and has been sent to a
responsible end market.
new text end

new text begin (k) "Recycling" means the process of collecting, sorting, cleansing, treating, and
reconstituting material that would otherwise be disposed of onto land or into water or the
atmosphere and returning the material to or maintaining the material in the economic
mainstream in the form of recovered material for new, reused, or reconstituted products
that meet the quality standards necessary to be used in the marketplace. Recycling does not
include energy recovery or energy generation by any means, including but not limited to
combustion, incineration, pyrolysis, gasification, solvolysis, thermal desorption, waste to
fuel, or landfill disposal of discarded material or discarded product component materials,
including the use of materials as landfill cover.
new text end

new text begin (l) "Responsible end market" means a materials market in which recycling materials or
disposing of contaminants is conducted in a way that benefits the environment and minimizes
risks to public health and worker health and safety.
new text end

new text begin (m) "Reuse" means to use a product, packaging, or resource that is:
new text end

new text begin (1) designed and marketed to be used multiple times for the same purpose;
new text end

new text begin (2) designed for durability to function properly in its original condition for multiple uses;
and
new text end

new text begin (3) made of a material supported by adequate infrastructure to ensure the material can
be conveniently and safely used or refilled for multiple cycles.
new text end

new text begin (n) "Rural area" means an area of the state that is not within the boundaries of a city
where:
new text end

new text begin (1) the population is 50,000 or more; and
new text end

new text begin (2) the immediately adjacent urbanized and urbanizing areas have a population density
of more than 100 persons per square mile.
new text end

new text begin (o) "Small business" has the meaning given under section 645.445;
new text end

new text begin (p) "Source reduction" means an activity that prevents generation of waste or prevents
inclusion of toxic materials in waste, including:
new text end

new text begin (1) reuse of a product in its original form;
new text end

new text begin (2) increasing the lifespan of a product;
new text end

new text begin (3) reducing material or the toxicity of material used in production or packaging in a
manner that does not impede the product's ability to be recycled; or
new text end

new text begin (4) changing procurement, consumption, or waste generation habits to result in smaller
quantities or lower toxicity of waste generated.
new text end

new text begin (q) "Source-separated" means a stream of recyclable materials separated at the point of
waste creation before materials are collected and centralized. Source-separated does not
include technologies that sort mixed municipal solid waste into recyclable and nonrecyclable
materials.
new text end

new text begin (r) "Unit of government" means a city, county, public school district, town, or Tribal
government in the state.
new text end

new text begin (s) "Zero waste" means conserving all resources by means of responsible production,
consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning
or otherwise destroying embodied energy, with no discharges to land, water, or air that
threaten the environment or human health.
new text end

new text begin (t) "Zero-waste practice" means a practice used to help achieve zero waste, including
source reduction, recycling, and composting.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Grant program. new text end

new text begin The commissioner must establish a competitive grant program
for eligible entities to pursue projects that are consistent with zero-waste practices in one
or more of the following categories:
new text end

new text begin (1) electronic source reduction and recycling according to subdivision 3;
new text end

new text begin (2) source reduction and reuse according to subdivision 4;
new text end

new text begin (3) market development according to subdivision 5; or
new text end

new text begin (4) recycling and composting infrastructure according to subdivision 6.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Electronic source reduction and recycling. new text end

new text begin (a) Projects under this subdivision
must relate to electronic source reduction and recycling. Grants may be used for
infrastructure, technology, research and development, and product repair and refurbishment.
new text end

new text begin (b) Projects must not include an electronic waste buy-back program that provides
compensation for used electronics as a credit toward the purchase of additional electronics.
new text end

new text begin (c) For projects in which recyclers are receiving electronics for materials processing,
such as for shredding and dismantling, the recyclers must be certified by an ANSI-ASQ
National Accreditation Board or similar accredited third-party certification body to an
environmentally sound management standard.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Source reduction and reuse. new text end

new text begin (a) Projects under this subdivision must relate
to source reduction, reuse, or both source reduction and reuse. Grants may be used for
product or manufacturing redesign or redevelopment to reduce life-cycle emissions,
by-products, packaging, and other outputs or for educational programming and outreach
activities to encourage changes in consumer behavior.
new text end

new text begin (b) For projects involving product or manufacturing redesign or redevelopment:
new text end

new text begin (1) the applicable manufacturer must pay a living wage; and
new text end

new text begin (2) the redesign or redevelopment must not result in higher toxicity or increased emissions
and must reduce overall life-cycle emissions.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Market development. new text end

new text begin (a) Projects under this subdivision must relate to market
development with respect to source reduction, recycling, and composting, including creating
demand for sorted recyclable commodities, refurbished goods, or compost.
new text end

new text begin (b) Projects must target easily or commonly recycled materials that are disproportionately
disposed of in landfills or incinerated and must reduce the volume, weight, or toxicity of
waste and waste by-products.
new text end

new text begin (c) Projects must not conflict with other laws or requirements identified by the
commissioner.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Recycling and composting infrastructure. new text end

new text begin (a) Projects under this subdivision
must relate to recycling or composting infrastructure. Grants may be used for facilities,
machinery, equipment, and other physical necessities required for collecting or processing
on a city- or county-wide scale.
new text end

new text begin (b) Projects under this subdivision must result in increased capacity for residential and
commercial source-separated organics, yard waste, and recycling streams. Projects focused
on composting infrastructure must generate a usable product that has demonstrable
environmental benefits when compared to the input materials, such as compost with added
nutrient content.
new text end

new text begin (c) Eligible compost projects must compost source-separated organic materials or yard
waste. Composting material derived from mixed municipal solid waste is not an eligible
project under this subdivision.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Grant application process; requirements. new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner must award
grants to eligible entities through a competitive grant process. In the request for proposals,
the commissioner must:
new text end

new text begin (1) specify the maximum amount of funding to be awarded to a project;
new text end

new text begin (2) establish the minimum percentage of total project funds that an applicant must
contribute to the project, if any; and
new text end

new text begin (3) prioritize the eligible applicants.
new text end

new text begin (b) The commissioner must develop, in consultation with the agency's Environmental
Justice Advisory Group, a streamlined and accessible application process.
new text end

new text begin (c) To apply for a grant, an eligible entity must submit a written application to the
commissioner on a form prescribed by the commissioner. The application must include any
relevant information requested by the commissioner.
new text end

new text begin (d) The application must demonstrate that the eligible entity has set specific source
reduction, recycling, or composting targets or estimates for the project's reduction of life-cycle
emissions.
new text end

new text begin (e) Projects awarded grants under this section must be completed within three years.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Grant award process. new text end

new text begin (a) In awarding grants under this section, the
commissioner must award at least 60 percent of available money to eligible entities with
projects located in environmental justice areas and 30 percent of available funds to eligible
entities with projects located in rural areas.
new text end

new text begin (b) The commissioner must give priority to eligible entities with projects that:
new text end

new text begin (1) achieve source reduction;
new text end

new text begin (2) support existing or create new jobs that pay a living wage, with additional preference
for jobs for individuals with barriers to employment;
new text end

new text begin (3) prevent or address any negative environmental consequences of the proposed project;
new text end

new text begin (4) demonstrate a need for additional investment in infrastructure and projects to achieve
source reduction, recycling, or composting targets set by the local unit of government
responsible for waste and recycling projects in the geographic area;
new text end

new text begin (5) will encourage further investment in source reduction, recycling, or composting
projects; or
new text end

new text begin (6) will incorporate multistakeholder involvement, including nonprofit, commercial,
and public sector partners.
new text end

Sec. 2. new text begin APPROPRIATION.
new text end

new text begin (a) $...... in fiscal year 2024 and $...... in fiscal year 2025 are appropriated from the
general fund to the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency for the zero-waste grant
program under Minnesota Statutes, section 115A.566.
new text end

new text begin (b) By January 15, 2025, the commissioner must submit a report to the chairs and ranking
minority members of the legislative committees having jurisdiction over economic
development and environment. The report must detail the use of grant money appropriated
under this section and include:
new text end

new text begin (1) a list of grant recipients to date and project descriptions; and
new text end

new text begin (2) a narrative of progress made toward grant project goals.
new text end

new text begin (c) By January 15, 2026, the commissioner must submit a report to the chairs and ranking
minority members of the legislative committees having jurisdiction over economic
development and environment. The report must detail the use of grant money appropriated
under this section and include:
new text end

new text begin (1) a list of grant recipients to date and project descriptions;
new text end

new text begin (2) a narrative of progress made toward grant project goals; and
new text end

new text begin (3) recommendations for future investment in zero-waste infrastructure.
new text end