Minnesota Legislature
SF 2760
1st Engrossment - 86th Legislature (2009 - 2010) Posted on 03/11/2010 02:14pm
Current Version - 1st Engrossment
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A bill for an act
relating to natural resources; providing for general burning permits; modifying
authority to establish forestry services fees; modifying intermediate auction
timber sale provisions; modifying timber sales provisions; eliminating certain
reports; amending Minnesota Statutes 2008, sections 88.17, subdivisions 1, 3;
88.79, subdivision 2; 90.041, by adding a subdivision; 90.121; 90.14; repealing
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 90.172.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1.
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 88.17, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1.
deleted text begin Permitdeleted text end new text begin Permissionnew text end required.
(a) deleted text begin A permitdeleted text end new text begin Permissionnew text end to start a fire
to burn vegetative materials and other materials allowed by Minnesota Statutes or official
state rules and regulations may be given by the commissioner or the commissioner's agent.
This permission shall be in the form of:
(1) a written permit issued by a forest officer, fire warden, or other person authorized
by the commissioner; deleted text begin or
deleted text end
(2) an electronic permit issued by the commissioner, an agent authorized by the
commissioner, or an Internet site authorized by the commissionerdeleted text begin .deleted text end new text begin ; or
new text end
new text begin
(3) a general permit adopted by the county board of commissioners according to
paragraph (c).
new text end
(b) new text begin Written and electronic new text end burning permits shall set the time and conditions by which
the fire may be started and burned. The permit shall also specifically list the materials that
may be burned. The permittee must have the permit on their person and shall produce
the permit for inspection when requested to do so by a forest officer, conservation officer,
or other peace officer. The permittee shall remain with the fire at all times and before
leaving the site shall completely extinguish the fire. A person shall not start or cause a
fire to be started on any land that is not owned or under their legal control without the
written permission of the owner, lessee, or an agent of the owner or lessee of the land.
Violating or exceeding the permit conditions shall constitute a misdemeanor and shall be
cause for the permit to be revoked.
new text begin
(c) A general burning permit may be adopted by the county board of commissioners
in counties that are determined by the commissioner either to not be wildfire areas as
defined in section 88.01, subdivision 6, or to otherwise have low potential for damage
to life and property from wildfire. The commissioner shall consider the history of and
potential for wildfire; the distribution of trees, brush, grasslands, and other vegetative
material; and the distribution of property subject to damage from escaped fires. Upon a
determination by the commissioner and adoption by a vote of the county board, permission
for open burning is extended to all residents in the county without the need for individual
written or electronic permits under this subdivision, provided burning conforms to all
other provisions of this chapter, including those related to responsibility to control and
extinguish fires, no burning of prohibited materials, and liability for damages caused by
violations of this chapter.
new text end
new text begin
(d) Upon adoption of a general burning permit, a county must establish specific
regulations by ordinance, to include at a minimum the time when and conditions under
which fires may be started and burned. No ordinance may be less restrictive than state law.
new text end
new text begin
(e) At any time when the commissioner or the county board determines that a general
burning permit is no longer in the public interest, the general permit may be canceled
by the commissioner or the county board.
new text end
Sec. 2.
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 88.17, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3.
Special permits.
The following special permits are required at all times,
including when the ground is snow-covered:
(a) Fire training. A permit to start a fire for the instruction and training of
firefighters, including liquid fuels training, may be given by the commissioner or agent of
the commissioner. Except for owners or operators conducting fire training in specialized
industrial settings pursuant to applicable federal, state, or local standards, owners
or operators conducting open burning for the purpose of instruction and training of
firefighters with regard to structures must follow the techniques described in a document
entitled: Structural Burn Training Procedures for the Minnesota Technical College System.
(b) Permanent tree and brush open burning sites. A permit for the operation of
a permanent tree and brush burning site may be given by the commissioner or agent of
the commissioner. Applicants for a permanent open burning site permit shall submit a
complete application on a form provided by the commissioner. Existing permanent tree
and brush open burning sites must submit for a permit within 90 days of the passage of
this statute for a burning permit. New site applications must be submitted at least 90
days before the date of the proposed operation of the permanent open burning site. The
application must be submitted to the commissioner and must contain:
(1) the name, address, and telephone number of all owners of the site proposed for
use as the permanent open burning site;
(2) if the operator for the proposed permanent open burning site is different from the
owner, the name, address, and telephone number of the operator;
(3) a general description of the materials to be burned, including the source and
estimated quantitynew text begin , dimensions of the site and burn pile areas, hours and dates of operation,
and provisions for smoke managementnew text end ; and
(4) a topographic or similarly detailed map of the site and surrounding area within
a one mile circumference showing all structures that might be affected by the operation
of the site.
Only trees, tree trimmings, or brush that cannot be disposed of by an alternative
method such as chipping, composting, or other method shall be permitted to be burned
at a permanent open burning site. A permanent tree and brush open burning site must
be located new text begin and operated new text end so as not to create a nuisance or endanger water quality.new text begin The
commissioner shall revoke the permit or order actions to mitigate threats to public health,
safety, and the environment in the event that permit conditions are violated.
new text end
Sec. 3.
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 88.79, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2.
Charge for service; receipts to special revenue fund.
new text begin Notwithstanding
section 16A.1283, new text end the commissioner of natural resources may deleted text begin charge the ownerdeleted text end new text begin , by
written order published in the State Register, establish fees the commissioner determines
to be fair and reasonable that are charged to ownersnew text end receiving deleted text begin suchdeleted text end services deleted text begin such sums
as the commissioner shall determine to be fair and reasonabledeleted text end new text begin under subdivision 1new text end . The
charges must account for differences in the value of timber and other benefits. The receipts
from deleted text begin suchdeleted text end new text begin thenew text end services shall be credited to the special revenue fund and are annually
appropriated to the commissioner for the purposes specified in subdivision 1.
Sec. 4.
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 90.041, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:
new text begin Subd. 9. new text end
new text begin Reoffering unsold timber. new text end
new text begin
To maintain and enhance forest ecosystems on
state forest lands, the commissioner may reoffer timber tracts remaining unsold under the
provisions of section 90.101 below appraised value at public auction with the required
30-day notice under section 90.101, subdivision 2.
new text end
Sec. 5.
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 90.121, is amended to read:
90.121 INTERMEDIATE AUCTION SALES; MAXIMUM LOTS OF 3,000
CORDS.
(a) The commissioner may sell the timber on any tract of state land in lots not
exceeding 3,000 cords in volume, in the same manner as timber sold at public auction
under section 90.101, and related laws, subject to the following special exceptions and
limitations:
(1) the commissioner shall offer all tracts authorized for sale by this section
separately from the sale of tracts of state timber made pursuant to section 90.101;
(2) no bidder may be awarded more than 25 percent of the total tracts offered at the
first round of bidding unless fewer than four tracts are offered, in which case not more
than one tract shall be awarded to one bidder. Any tract not sold at public auction may be
offered for private sale as authorized by section 90.101, subdivision 1, to persons eligible
under this section at the appraised value; and
(3) no sale may be made to a person having more than deleted text begin 20deleted text end new text begin 30new text end employees. For the
purposes of this clause, "employee" means an individual working for salary or wages
on a full-time or part-time basis.
(b) The auction sale procedure set forth in this section constitutes an additional
alternative timber sale procedure available to the commissioner and is not intended to
replace other authority possessed by the commissioner to sell timber in lots of 3,000
cords or less.
new text begin
(c) Another bidder or the commissioner may request that the number of employees a
bidder has pursuant to paragraph (a), clause (3), be confirmed if there is evidence that the
bidder may be ineligible due to exceeding the employee threshold. The commissioner
shall request information from the commissioner of labor and industry including the
premiums paid by the bidder in question for workers' compensation insurance coverage
for all employees of the bidder. The commissioner shall review the information submitted
by the commissioner of labor and industry and make a determination based on the
information as to whether the bidder is eligible.
new text end
Sec. 6.
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 90.14, is amended to read:
90.14 AUCTION SALE PROCEDURE.
(a) All state timber shall be offered and sold by the same unit of measurement as it
was appraised. No tract shall be sold to any person other than the purchaser in whose name
the bid was made. The commissioner may refuse to approve any and all bids received and
cancel a sale of state timber for good and sufficient reasons.
(b) The purchaser at any sale of timber shall, immediately upon the approval of the
bid, or, if unsold at public auction, at the time of purchase at a subsequent sale under
section 90.101, subdivision 1, pay to the commissioner a down payment of 15 percent
of the appraised value. In case any purchaser fails to make such payment, the purchaser
shall be liable therefor to the state in a civil action, and the commissioner may reoffer the
timber for sale as though no bid or sale under section 90.101, subdivision 1, therefor
had been made.
(c) In lieu of the scaling of state timber required by this chapter, a purchaser of
state timber may, at the time of payment by the purchaser to the commissioner of 15
percent of the appraised value, elect in writing on a form prescribed by the attorney
general to purchase a permit based solely on the appraiser's estimate of the volume of
timber described in the permit, provided that the commissioner has expressly designated
the availability of such option for that tract on the list of tracts available for sale as
required under section 90.101. A purchaser who elects in writing on a form prescribed
by the attorney general to purchase a permit based solely on the appraiser's estimate of
the volume of timber described on the permit does not have recourse to the provisions
of section 90.281.
(d) In the case of a public auction sale conducted by a sealed bid process, tracts shall
be awarded to the high bidder, who shall pay to the commissioner a down payment of 15
percent of the appraised value deleted text begin within ten business days of receiving a written award
noticedeleted text end new text begin that must be received or postmarked within 14 days of the date of the sealed bid
openingnew text end . If a purchaser fails to make the down payment, the purchaser is liable for the
down payment to the state and the commissioner may offer the timber for sale to the next
highest bidder as though no higher bid had been made.
(e) Except as otherwise provided by law, at the time the purchaser signs a permit
issued under section 90.151, the new text begin commissioner shall require the new text end purchaser deleted text begin shalldeleted text end new text begin to new text end make
a bid guarantee payment to the commissioner in an amount equal to 15 percent of the
total purchase price of the permit less the down payment amount required by paragraph
(b)new text begin for any bid increase in excess of $5,000 of the appraised valuenew text end . If deleted text begin thedeleted text end new text begin a required new text end bid
guarantee payment is not submitted with the signed permit, no harvesting may occur, the
permit cancels, and the down payment for timber forfeits to the state. The bid guarantee
payment forfeits to the state if the purchaser and successors in interest fail to execute
an effective permit.
Sec. 7. new text begin REPEALER.
new text end
new text begin
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 90.172,
new text end
new text begin
is repealed.
new text end